Pokemon Sable
by MetalGhost
Summary: There had only been one war ever, and all had vowed never to repeat it. But it seems another is coming.
1. Intro

The following is for comprehension only, and not part of the story. If you wanna figure stuff out as you go, just skip to chapter one.

Due to me being bored, I have actually decided to do something that could be loosely described as bettering myself. As you may or may not know, this is going to be a pokemon fanfic. What follows is a list of rules and changes that will be incorporated into this fic.

This takes place entirely during the first two generations (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal). I may (very) occasionally make references to later generations, but I feel that they will be easy to pick out.

The four move limit is obviously abolished.

People start their 'pokemon journey' when they're 15, rather than freaking 10. I wouldn't trust a 10 year old with a steak knife, much less responsibility of a creature that can flash freeze a person. However, most kids receive their pokemon much beforehand, giving them time to know each other and become friends. Ethan (the main character) in this story is 16 and has had his Cyndaquil ever since he can remember.

The gym challenge is different. Rather than having a series of increasingly stronger gyms you have to fight, it's more like going to study under different teachers. All the gym leaders have pokemon that are roughly the same strength, they're just there to teach about different styles (elements). You gain a badge by studying under the gym leader and successfully learning their particular style/technique, usually proved by some sort of test. The idea is that after getting badges from all the gyms, you will be a well-balanced trainer, and hopefully by extension a well-balanced person, which is what is desired in a Champion. Beating the gym leader is not part of this, though you can try and beat him right away to get the badge, it is rare for this to be tried, and even rarer for it to happen. I did this to prevent the whole becoming Champion in a week kinda thing, which really really doesn't make sense. Also, it requires all 16 badges to be allowed to challenge the Elite 4, not just 8.

I see the gym leaders as supposed to be very strong, leaders of their town/whatever. They are also part of the Pokemon League, which the governmental body. The Champion is the executive head, and the Elite Four are the Judicial heads. The gym leaders are regional representatives given limited judicial power. They also act as a pseudo military/police force should the need arise, since there isn't a public force, though private interests might train/hire some of their own. There is no real legislative branch, anyone can promote an idea, which is reviewed by the gym leader, who can pass it on or veto it, then the Elite Four, which each have to approve it, and then the Champion (yes, I realize that this would probably result in an inordinate amount of paperwork, but since we're dealing with a fairly small area which already runs fairly smoothly, we'll pretend that the load is not unbearable). Most everything else is run by private businesses (schools, manufacturing, research, food, construction, etc…), which are kept from attempting to oppress the populace by the fact that Lance can show up and decimate your city with any one of his pokemon. I may delve a little more into the politics of the League in the actual story, but this should be enough and more to understand the position I'm writing the story from (and I'm not that great at politics/economics/governmental stuff anyway, so I'm really just making this up as I go). I realize this is somewhat of a stretch to take in, as people never work that well together, but I figure if you're reading a pokemon fanfic to begin with realism is not your primary concern =P

For a level of scale, the gyms would anywhere between levels 30-50 (with obvious exceptions such as Blue and Clair), the elite four would be 50-60, and the champion would be 60-70. Red has the same party you see when you fight him in GSC, which is why he's such a big deal, but he didn't want to be champion and let Lance take his place. The Legendarys (Mew, Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno, Celebi, Lugia, Ho-oh, Raioku, Entei, and Suicune) are all presumed to be at level 100 with max stats and know every move they are capable of learning. The only exception to this is Mewtwo, who starts the story at level 70 (still max stats) but only his level up moves learned.

Most of the information that I didn't make up I got through playing the games and bulbapedia, just in case you were curious.

Also, I'm assuming that you've already played the games and know the backstory, so I'm not really going to do much in the way of character introduction/avoiding spoilers. There'll be enough suspense even without it I imagine. Also, I will only be introducing a very few OCs to the story, no more than three, but probably only two. They will be described in slightly more detail.

As for geography, I'm not very good with distances and whatnot, so I'm just kinda guessing how long it'd take to travel from city to city by foot.

Last thing is the relative intelligence of pokemon. I view most pokemon as having intelligence roughly equivalent to crows or monkeys. They are capable of simple problem solving and can communicate, but don't have a formal language or abstract thinking skills. Pokemon that know the move psychic however, are at human level intelligence or above, and can speak, though they still have to actually know English and be biologically capable (unless they're using telepathy), otherwise they just speak whatever pokemon language there is or something like that.

That's about it I guess. I'm notorious about getting halfway into a story and then becoming distracted and taking years to finish, so I apologize in advance if updates aren't exactly regular.


	2. Chapter 1

Giovanni panted, his normally pristine suit torn and dirty, blood dripping from open wounds. He dropped his gun and straightened slowly, making a mental note to invest in a firearm with more stopping power. His pokemon were lying around him, most unconscious, all terribly wounded. His enemy stood across from him, cradling the limp form of his Pikachu and standing protectively in front of a downed Charizard, right wing and arm broken. The rest of his pokemon had Giovanni surrounded; a Blastoise on all fours, twitching from repeated electrocutions, but steady enough that the cannons on its back didn't waver as they pointed straight at him. A bullet riddled Venusaur, charging a solarbeam from sunlight pouring in from a massive hole blasted in the ceiling. A truly massive Snorlax, its droopy eyes at odds with the hyper beam crackling between its paws. A delicate Espeon, eyes blazing with psychic power. Giovanni smirked, though not at his enemy. _It is ironic_, he thought to himself. _I have apparently forgotten my own rule. I've gotten weak. Beaten by a kid. _

"I must thank you," Giovanni said, bowing slightly, "I am actually rather glad that I was reminded of this lesson by you, rather than by someone who is significantly more likely to kill me."

The boy didn't say anything, merely watched, the same focused expression on his face. The two had fought three times now, and Giovanni had never heard him speak or seen his expression change. The boy was unshakeable.

"I have failed," he said, "Failed at the only thing I ever tried to do."

He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out an Earth Badge.

"You deserve this more than I do. Go show them all what real power is," he said, tossing the emblem to the boy. As he did so, a Xatu teleported beside him and just as quickly teleported away, taking his pokemon and broken dreams with him.

Red caught the badge.

* * *

><p>It was dark in the cave, but all its denizens were more than used to that. Strangely enough though, even the intruder didn't seem perturbed. He walked easily, almost casually, making his way through the maze. Nothing tried to stop him, they knew where he was going.<p>

_Why are you here?_

"I am here to wake you up," the man said with a slight smile. His eyes flashed in the darkness as the psychic glow around Mewtwo flared into being.

* * *

><p>Morty sat in the darkness, leaning against the charred wall of an ancient burned tower. His eyes were open despite the darkness, flitting from unseen thing to unseen thing. Ghosts swarmed around him, thickening the air to the point of unbreatheability, a murmured susurrus of more than slightly insane laughter. But they dared not touch him. Suddenly, as one, they all stopped. They turned in a direction not normally associated with the four dimensions we know, and looked.<p>

This time, even the ghost master joined in the laughter.

* * *

><p>Suicune stands unmoving on the water, its surface perfectly still, staring at the window looking into a certain boy's room.<p>

"_Are you sure? Because I am still rather dubious about this,"_ He asked, sensing his creator.

"_His heart sings,"_ The massive golden bird replied, alighting on a nearby tree, causing it to creak and sway ominously.

"_All songs sound the same ere the first note is struck. This can just as easily turn to war as peace. If you'll recall, I'm not terribly fond of war."_

"_There will be war regardless. The question is whether that war will be followed by peace, or by more war," _Ho-oh said, head swiveling to look at the beast of rain. "_You will not be the only player. But you will likely be the most important. When we're done with this, the future will once again be the past. And we will all be free_."

"_There's no such thing,"_ Suicune replied, and with that, he ran, even the wind unable to catch up with him.

"_Yet,"_ Ho-oh replied to the wind.

* * *

><p>Per usual, Kris was nowhere to be found.<p>

"Where could she be? Dr. Elm specifically asked for you two!" Ethans mom yelled, peering out the doorway.

"That's probably due to the fact that we're like the only two in town between the ages 'too young' and 'too old'," Ethan said with a laugh, coming down the stairs with his Cyndaquil just behind him.

"Hey now," his mother glared at him. He kissed her on the cheek as he passed her out the door, the Cyndaquil nuzzling her ankle before following.

It was just a short walk to the lab, the only building of note in the entire town, though admittedly that wasn't particularly saying a whole lot. Ethan walked the familiar corridor to the main lab, where the doctor (and Ethan) spent much of his time absorbed in his research. The doctor was staring intently at a large screen displaying two DNA strands side by side.

"What's that?" Ethan asked, startling the professor.

"Ah! Oh! Ummm…. Yes. This here on the left is DNA from a Pichu, and this here on the right is from a Raichu. The same Raichu."

Ethan looked at the image for a moment, face becoming increasingly puzzled.

"They're not the same."

"Indeed. Which poses an interesting point of thought. If my assumption that the genetic change was caused by evolution, which seems reasonable, why then are children born as the pre-evolved species of the mother? Why are there no such things as a cross-breed pokemon for that matter? It just doesn't make sense! Inheritance doesn't work like that!" Elm exclaimed. Ethan nodded.

"You're right. I can't wait until you figure it out!" he exclaimed brightly. Elm gave him a dour look.

"So anyway, what is it you wanted?" Ethan asked.

"Oh right. Is Kris coming?"

"Couldn't find her."

"Of course not. Oh well, not a big deal. Just thought it'd make your mother worry less. I have an… acquaintance who lives off the beaten path, somewhere north of Cherrygrove. He sent me a message saying that he had something that he wanted to give me, but I can't go get it myself at the moment. My wife and all…" Cyndaquil made a squeak that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and Elm looked around uncomfortably, clearing his throat. "So yeah, could you go check it out for me?"

"How off the beaten path are we talking here…?" Ethan asked slowly.

"I believe on a scale of 1 to 10 he's in hiding from the League," Elm said with a straight face. Ethan took a bit to take this in.

"Why…? How…? What?" was all he managed.

"Several years ago now, a team of some of the greatest minds in the field of pokemon research were brought together for a project. I was the specialist on genetics. At the time, most of us did not know the intent or the identity of the organization behind this. However after a while the nature of the… project… clued us in, and many of us left. My acquaintance was not one of those, morality and ethics were never his strong suit. When the project blew up, the League found out and prosecuted anyone who survived. He however managed to evade them, and has stayed in hiding ever since. He now goes by the moniker of 'Mr. Pokemon' I believe," Elm said, once again ruining a perfectly serious story.

"You mean it literally blew up?"

"Well, I suppose technically it blew everything else up, I'm pretty certain that it actually survived."

"I see… and I suppose that this is about the clearest explanation that I'm going to get?"

"Unfortunately yes. I would not really like my involvement exposed, and while I don't think you'd intentionally say anything, it's not a chance I really desire to take."

"Of course. Well, how am I even supposed to find this 'Mr. Pokemon' anyway?" Ethan sighed resignedly.

"He'll know once you enter his territory, someone will be along to guide you. Just go get lost in the forest northeast of Cherrygrove."

"My job is to get lost in the middle of nowhere so a convict on the run can give me… something? Is this for real?" Ethan asked, incredulous.

"I don't suggest phrasing it to your mother quite that way, but yes. It'll be fine, Kris has already visited him several times, he's quite friendly."

"Kris is also insane and she regularly lives out in the wild for days at a time, I don't think I have those exact qualifications."

"Oh don't be a baby, most kids your age have already left home to start training with the gyms. It's about time you got out of the lab and did something."

"I see no point in leaving the comfort of my home to learn something that I can just as easily learn by studying here, where I have things like free room and board. And showers."

"And if that were in any way true, it would be an excellent point. Cyndaquil wants to go, so it's two against one, you have no choice. Shoo shoo!"

Ethan glared at the flaming pokemon. It headbutted his ankle.

"I'm going to regret this," he sighed.

* * *

><p>His mother had been surprisingly enthusiastic about the idea, going into a frenzy of packing and off the wall advice as soon as he mentioned the trip. Ethan had been somewhat overwhelmed. Surprisingly though, most of the advice had been more directed towards Cyndaquil.<p>

"Now make sure he eats breakfast, otherwise he'll be grumpy all day, he's just like his grandfather," she said, packing granola bars and vitamin pills into his backpack. "And make sure he stays warm and dry, the rainy season is coming up and I don't want him being sick out on the road."

Cyndaquil squeaked an affirmative after every order, puffed up and taking himself very seriously.

"I can take care of myself you know, I'm not totally ignorant," he said.

"Nonsense dear, you've only left town twice ever, and you spend most of your time reading."

"So has he!"

"He can breathe fire. Can you breathe fire? No, I didn't think so."

"What does that even…? " Ethan began, but then gave in to the inevitable.

And so they were off.


	3. Chapter 2

Mewtwo panted, trembling. He had never been tried like this before. What manner of being was this, that could so effortlessly beat him? Despite his form he couldn't possibly be human. Psychic powers couldn't touch him, normal attacks passed right through him. He had resorted to flinging boulders to keep the fiend at bay, but even that didn't do more than seem to mildly amuse him. Finally the darkness of the cave swarmed up around him, shadows gripping his limbs, and he fell.

"Well, that was entertaining," the man said, levitating Mewtwo's limp body and proceeding out of the cave.

* * *

><p>Ethan was lost. On the plus side, it required very little effort to be lost, as all one had to do was simply not know where one was. On the down side, well, he was still lost. It had been a fairly easy trip to Cherrygrove city, with the exception of a rather large den of Rattata they had accidentally wandered through, nothing had really bothered them. After that though, things had gotten unpleasant. They had been walking around aimlessly for almost three days now, and Ethan at least was beginning to get grumpy, though Cyndaquil seemed as happy as ever, though it was sometimes hard to tell since his facial expressions tended to leave something to be desired. At the moment, he was busy chewing on a berry Ethan had nabbed from a low hanging branch.<p>

"You're going to be fully evolved by the time we get out of here," the boy complained, fanning himself with his hat. His sweatshirt had long ago been abandoned to the dismal recesses of his backpack, and his t-shirt was plastered to him with sweat. A Weedle noisily munching on a leaf fell to the ground with a plop, having eaten the stem away. Cyndaquil waddled over to inspect it, decided it was uninteresting, and went back to searching for berries. Ethan sighed and sat down on a rotting log.

"I dislike this, and would like the world to know that I was forced into this against my will!" he announced to the trees.

"Duly noted," replied a voice. Ethan froze, shifting his eyes back and forth. Suddenly he whirled around to see a Slowking standing behind him, a placid look on its face. It yawned and then resumed looking at him.

"That is exceedingly creepy," Ethan commented. The pokemon shrugged.

"You sound like your name is Ethan," it said.

"Yes…?" Ethan trailed off.

"Ok," Slowking said, and turned around, slowly making its way between the trees, "Follow me please."

Ethan and Cyndaquil looked at each other, shrugged, and followed the pink pokemon.

* * *

><p>It was simple really. One of the advantages of small towns is that everybody feels safe. And safe people don't do things like make sure their windows are locked. He dropped down quietly. The lab was little more than a single large room, just a few closets or storage rooms off to the side. He swiftly made his way to the back right corner where the PC was located and booted it up. The logon screen quickly loaded, nearly blinding him. He squinted his eyes and pulled out a small drive from his pocket, hooking it into the pc. The screen turned blue and a new window popped up. A few mouseclicks later and he was in.<p>

_Hm, looks like something he made actually works for once, _he thought, eyes eagerly scanning for the pokemon box icon. He found it and scanned through the list, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"Mother fucker!" he cursed vehemently under his breath. One pokemon. One single pokemon in the entire system. And it was a Chikorita. If only his father's accounts hadn't been frozen. This lab was his only chance to get a decent pokemon without actually having to spend years training the stupid thing. And all he got was a Chikorita. He nearly despaired then. But he had been hardened from such emotion by years of careful training from his father and those who served him. He angrily jammed an empty pokeball into the box and transferred the pokemon.

"You'd better grow up quick," he growled at the now occupied pokeball, "I'm on a deadline."

He logged out and unplugged his drive, quietly slipping back out the window. The room was still and dark once again, until a ghostly blue light materialized from the shadows. The shiny Gengar grinned, the dim glow from its eyes reflecting off of the lens of a camera hidden in the ceiling. It giggled and slunk through the shadows, following the heir of the Rockets into the night.

* * *

><p>"Ah, so this is the Ethan I've heard so much about!" Professor Oak exclaimed as Ethan stepped into the house.<p>

"Professor Oak…?" Ethan said slowly, confused. He recognized the man from books and tv, and even occasional visits to see Elm, but had never spoken to him before.

"That's me!" the man replied, beaming and shaking Ethans hand, "And I see you have a Cyndaquil with you! He yours?"

"Uh, yeah," Ethan said as the pokemon in question sniffed at Professor Oaks old brown loafers.

"Excellent, excellent," he said, reaching down to pet the pokemon, who rumbled happily, "I was just visiting my friend uh, Mr. Pokemon here, when he happened to mention you were on your way. Professor Elm has mentioned how studious you are, and so I figured I'd introduce myself to a fellow intellectual. So what is it exactly you're studying?"

"Oh, um, mostly battle related fields," Ethan said, still slightly taken aback that Professor Oak actually wanted to speak to him, "My focus is on species physiology, things such as training levels, elemental vulnerabilities, growth and healing, stuff like that. But I have recently also become interested in the tactical side of things as well. I guess it kinda came out of seeing so many different combinations of traits and whatnot. I believe your son is one of the experts in that area?"

"Ah yes, Blue! He is quite the genius in his own way. He's doing quite well for himself. Well, I must be off now, I've kept you from our host for long enough I believe, and I have a meeting in Goldenrod later today. Good luck on your research!"

Ethan and Cyndaquil watched as the professor released an Abra and they teleported away, blinking out of existence. For the first time Ethan actually looked around the house. It was smaller than it looked due to the massive supercomputer taking up almost half the house. The rest was fairly mundane, a small kitchen area with a table and some chairs, a mattress just lying in one corner, blankets and pillows jumbled across it. In the back was a staircase leading down into darkness. Bookshelves lined every wall from floor to ceiling, packed with books and figurines of pokemon and jars of coins and other random objects. A man, ostensibly Mr. Pokemon, was sitting at the kitchen table, idly swirling a drink around in his mug as he watched Ethan take in the house. He was dressed in a loose but not baggy pair sturdy looking grey pants, and a matching jacket unzipped revealing a simple white shirt. Incongruously, a fedora with a purple band was perched on his head, above a pair of polarized aviators. He was also barefoot.

"Welcome to my residence," he said, smiling easily, "I'm glad you came. I take it Kris isn't with you?"

"No sir, couldn't find her," Ethan replied.

"Ah well, not exactly surprising. So now, I happen to have this singularly unique pokemon egg which I presently just do not have the time to give the attention it deserves. The good professor has assured me that you are a very capable and competent person, who would lavish upon this egg the love that it requires. Is he correct in this declaration?"

"Well, sure I guess. What kind of egg is it?"

"That's just the thing! I really don't know. Not something I've come across before. I was hoping that with Elms genetic expertise, he might be able to more successfully categorize it than I have."

Ethan was excited. He'd always been interested in raising a pokemon from birth. There was just something special about being able to see an entire life like that. Cyndaquil wasn't the same, they were basically the same age, more like friends or brothers than parent child.

"I'm sure we'd be able to figure it out, no problem!" he exclaimed.

"Top notch!" the man exclaimed, jumping to his feet and turning to the Slowking, who had been lying down in a sunbeam, "Junior?"

The pokemon looked up, yawning.

"Hm?"

"Egg please."

Junior nodded and lay back down. A few seconds later, the aforementioned egg came floating up the stairs, an extremely excited and extremely tiny Crobat flying in circles around it, squeaking and chirping. Mr. Pokemon gently took it out of the air, cradling it lovingly before handing it over to Ethan. It was smooth and solid, pure white aside from a few seemingly random red and blue triangular shapes. It settled comfortably into Ethans arms, a pleasant weight. The Crobat swooped down next to Cyndaquil, the two pokemon cautiously sniffing each other.

"So what's up with the Crobat?" Ethan asked as he held the egg, gently running his fingers over its surface.

"I really don't know. She was normal sized as a Zubat and as a Golbat. Extremely odd, but that's kind of my specialty. And honestly, the sheer size of a normal member of her species has always led me to avoid them. I tend to get nervous around things that are bigger than me," he laughed sheepishly, "It's certainly given me a new appreciation for her species though."

Cyndaquil and Crobat began scuffling, rolling around on the ground, squeaking and growling in excitement. Mr. Pokemon chuckled.

"Well, it's kinda late in the day, so you're welcome to stay the night if you don't wanna set out right now," he said, sitting back down and taking a sip from his mug.

"Yeah actually, that'd be great. Do you have any other pokemon?" Ethan asked, excited. Despite being a pokemon researcher, he really didn't have access to too much in the way of exotic pokemon, just the few species that lived around town and the occasional pokemon that Professor Elm would bring to the lab for study.

"Uh, well I don't actually HAVE any pokemon," Mr. Pokemon replied, his voice changing slightly, the genial air leaving it, "these are just my friends who live here, or stop by to visit. But to answer what you actually meant, yes! You've already met Junior and Tiny. There's a Parasect that usually stays down in the basement. He's my oldest friend; we've been together for some time now. Then there's a Magneton who kindly supplies the power for this place. SunCloud, he's a Skarmory, is probably outside somewhere, he's something of a loner. And um, yes I should warn you. There's also a Gengar that I train with, name's Vince. He's not around at the moment. I think. But he's… playful, so I apologize in advance if he bothers you. Just yell or something and I'll get him to leave you alone. That's all the ones in this area, but I know some others around different places. I can't exactly travel so much anymore though, so I don't get to speak to them often…"

He trailed off wistfully. Ethan looked at him. It was hard to read his emotions because so much of him was covered, but he did seem, if not exactly tired, at least weary. Then he remembered what Professor Elm had said. He was in hiding. Then again, he was in hiding because he didn't care about morality and ethics, so Ethan found it hard to feel too terribly sorry for him. He wondered what exactly they had done.

* * *

><p>"So what do you think?" Oak asked.<p>

"We'll see. I won't be confident until that egg hatches. But I think he'll do well. He's always thinking. You can see it on his face. I approve," Mr. Pokemon replied, sitting outside under the stars, since his house was shielded from most outside electromagnetic radiation.

"Yes, Elm has said that he's very smart, but also pragmatic."

Mr. Pokemon only grunted.

"I'll be keeping an eye on him."

"Good, I've got other projects to work on. Keep me updated though."

"Of course."

"Thanks. See ya."

"Goodbye."

They hung up. Mr. Pokemon tossed the gear into the air, where a well-aimed flamethrower from Junior incinerated it. A few hundred miles away in Goldenrod, Professor Oak was doing the same thing.

Mr. Pokemon turned to go back in the house, only to come face to face with a bright blue ghost.

"Ah, hello."

The Gengar grinned and lazily bounced away, floating through the air.

"Did he do it?"

_Yep. Seemed rather frustrated. I wonder why?_ giggled Vince.

"I feel sorry for that poor pokemon," he sighed sadly. Vince shrugged.

_It'll live. Probably. _

"Truly, your compassion is inspiring," he said dryly. The ghost just grinned maniacally.


	4. Chapter 3

Ethan woke up to his gear ringing. He blearily reached over and put it to his ear.

"Hello…?"

"ETHAN!" Elm was yelling. Ethan winced and held the gear farther from his head.

"This is terrible. We've been hacked!"

"What?" he said straight up, former grogginess forgotten.

"Somebody broke in and hacked into our system! I've already contacted Silph and Falkner, but I want you to be here too. Your work could be stolen as well. Please come quickly."

"Yeah, of course. I'll leave right away," Ethan said, quickly stuffing his things into his backpack and nudging Cyndaquil awake.

"Please hurry. We'll be waiting," Elm said, then hung up. Ethan shoved his gear in his pocket and ran up the stairs.

"Well good morning," Mr. Pokemon said, nursing what appeared to be the same mug from last night, "In a hurry?"

"The labs been compromised," Ethan said, "He wants me back as soon as possible."

Mr. Pokemon sat up in shock.

"What? How? Was any information stolen?"

"I don't know, Silph and Falkner are on their way."

"Damnit!" Mr. Pokemon growled, punching the table, "I wish I wasn't trapped in this… prison!"

He sighed.

"Go. I'd have SunCloud fly you there, but he seems to have gone his own way for the moment. Junior will direct you back to Cherrygrove."

"Right, thanks!" Ethan said and dashed out, scooping up Cyndaquil to sit on his backpack as he ran.

* * *

><p>The pokemon around Cherrygrove were too weak to even give Chickorita a pause anymore. Not that that reflected on Chickorita any, more just attesting to the general weakness of the swarms of Ratatta, Pidgey and Sentret that infested the area. Silver had been racking his brain for strategies to use for the pokemon. For the most part it was not really a powerhouse, even fully evolved. It was more of a smart, defensive fighter. Tough, which Silver liked, but still lacking in firepower. Eventually he'd need to build a team to compensate for that.<p>

"Don't get smug," he told the small green creature, who was yipping happily and chasing a Sentret off, "You haven't even beat anything tough yet."

The idiot pokemon just looked at him and rumbled happily. Silver sighed.

"Come!" he said, snapping his fingers. The Chickorita quickly bounded over to his side, having learned early on the repercussions of failing to understand that order.

"We're moving on."

They started walking west. It was late, so they would stay the night at the Center, and move on in the morning, hopefully to somewhere more challenging than this. Just as they were entering the town, Silver saw some kid running towards him, a pokemon sitting on his head. He recognized him from his surveillance of the lab, some assistant or something. He had a fire type pokemon. Good.

"Ready for a real challenge?" he asked, looking down at the Chickorita. It looked back, uncomprehending. Silver growled and stood in the middle of the path, blocking the way. The kid slowed down as he drew closer.

"Uh, excuse me?" he huffed, breathing hard but not particularly tired it seemed.

"Battle," Silver said, face blank.

"Kinda in a rush, how about later," Ethan responded, stepping to the side to try and get past.

"Vine whip," Silver said emotionlessly. Two long vines uncoiled from Chickoritas neck and lashed out blindingly fast, wrapping Ethans ankles and tripping him.

"I wasn't asking," Silver said.

"Seriously?" Ethan yelled, angry. Cyndaquil flared up, growling at the redhed.

"You're seriously going to do that, and then try and battle a fire type with a grass type? You know what, fine! Get him!"

Silver smirked. The two pokemon charged, ramming into each other and rolling away. Cyndaquil coughed and shook its head, itching from the dose of poisonpowder that Chickorita had left for it. Chickorita used reflect while the fire mouse was occupied.

"Stay long range, don't let it get close," Ethan yelled, causing Silver to smirk even more. The two vines again shot out, punching Cyndaquil back. The flaming pokemon growled and huffed, thick black smoke pouring from its back now. It ran in circles, spreading the fog. Silver glared.

"Coward!" he yelled.

"Whatever works," Ethan shrugged.

"Watch out!" Silver yelled as an ember flashed towards Chickorita, embedding into its side and causing the scaly flesh to sizzle. The pokemon cried out in pain and flailed, trying to dislodge the aggravation. Cyndaquil quickly shot a few more, two of them hitting. Chickorita was down. Silver sneered and returned his pokemon, glaring at his opponent. Ethan gave his pokemon a thumbs-up as he returned him.

"Wow, you're really good," Ethan said, his earlier anger forgotten in the heat of battle, "I didn't see that coming."

Silver looked at him a moment, acknowledging the praise with a frown.

"You've served your purpose. There's no need to talk," the redhead said, pushing by him to return to the center. Ethan laughed.

"You realized that we're going to the same place, right?"

Silver didn't reply.

"Sooooo….. what's your name?" Ethan asked.

"Silver," Silver grunted.

"Cool. I'm Ethan. So how long you had your pokemon?"

"Not very. It's the only reason you won."

"Riiight…."

Conversation trailed off for a bit. It didn't take much longer to reach the center, the large red roof standing out conspicuously amongst the rest of small homes. They entered, each handing over their lone pokeballs to the nurse, who gave them a pager to let them know when their pokemon were ready. Silver stalked off to the waiting room, Ethan following behind.

"So you thought about training with the gyms?" Ethan asked as they sat down, Silver staring decidedly away from him.

"No."

"Why not? You're good. You could do really well."

"I'll beat the gyms. I'll train on my own."

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? And how many people have done that… ever? Half a dozen? Less?"

"I will be the best!" Silver hissed, snapping around and staring at the other boy furiously, "There is no other option!"

Ethan leaned back, holding his hands up peaceably, noting the rage in the other's eyes.

"Well if you're as smart as you are passionate you should have no problem."

Silver visibly contained himself, returning to his apparently normal arrogant sneer.

"Don't need you to tell me that."

They sat in silence for a while, until Ethans pager buzzed.

"Well, see ya!" he said cheerily. Silver didn't reply.

* * *

><p>"So, what'd you think about that guy?" Ethan asked Cyndaquil as they resumed their journey, the pokemon once again riding on Ethan's head as he jogged down the path. The little pokemon squeaked and snorted, still a little grumpy from the poison.<p>

"He's got potential I think. Lots of issues though."

Another two hours of alternately walking and jogging got him back to New Bark town. He hurried to the lab, only to find that it was surrounded by security. Uniformed men with various pokemon stood outside the building, preventing anyone from going inside. Ethan approached hesitantly.

"Could you tell me where Professor Elm is?" he asked one of the guards.

"He's inside," he grunted noncommittally, his Machoke leering at them.

"Oh good," Ethan said, backing away and dialing the professor's number. It only rang once.

"Ethan?" Elm asked.

"Yeah, I'm right outside."

"Be right there," Elm replied and hung up. A minute later he was at the door with two other people, waving him in.

"Ethan! Glad you're here. This is Falkner, the gym leader from Violet," the blue haired man nodded, hand on a katana sheathed at his hip and a Hoothoot on his shoulder.

"And this is Matt, from Silph," the other man, a middle aged blond fellow grinned and shook hands with Ethan, smiling brightly.

"Hi," Ethan said, returning the handshake, "So what have you all found out so far?"

"Quite a lot actually," Matt answered, leading the way back to the main lab, "From what I can tell, there is no malicious code left behind, still running a few more scans but it looks like this was a robbery rather than an attack. From the logs I extracted, it looks like the only thing your hacker did was access the storage system. Quite a neat little piece of work too, that's pretty hard to get into, I know Bill's always updating the thing. We're actually going to call and inform him of this, he'll want to check it out. He gets pretty upset when somebody tampers with his baby."

Matt walked up to the main computer and began typing rapidly. A few seconds later he spoke into a microphone.

"Anything new to report Tew?"

"NOooSIR" an oddly synthesized voice responded from the speakers.

"Time until completion?"

"Less than THREEminutessss" the voice replied.

"You put a natural language processor in your forensic program…?" Ethan asked, confused.

"Nope! I put a natural language processor in my pokemon! This is Porygon 2! The beta version, as you can tell," Matt said, beaming proudly. Professor Elm went into a fit and began stuttering.

"I think what the professor is trying to ask is if it's an evolution or a completely separate pokemon," Ethan said dryly, patting the professor on the back.

"A little of both I guess?" Matt hazarded, "It's not really a mutation of DNA, or in this case code. It's like… well… hm."

He scratched his head and thought for a moment.

"Alright, well, it's just easier to explain what happens and let you decide. Since our end goal is to make this available to everybody, we're using a sort of upgrade system to modify existing Porygons, since honestly it's more economic than to actually create and distribute a completely new product. We used the same basic program shell but integrated a completely new neural based AI and a bunch of functions. Originally it was supposed to be used for space exploration, but we could never get the Fly method to perform properly. Everything else though is top notch!" Matt finished excitedly, completely off topic by that point.

"Cool," Ethan said, lost in the techno jargon. Professor Elm had recovered, but Ethan cut him off before he could begin interrogating the blond programmer.

"So! As you were saying, nothing other than the storage system was hacked?"

"Right," Matt said, glancing back at the computer, "Yep, all done. Let's see… Looks like… a Chickorita was withdrawn, and that's it. The only pokemon in the box at the time."

"They stole a pokemon?" Professor Elm cried.

"Yep," Matt said sadly, shaking his head. Ethan narrowed his eyes, thinking.

"What else do we know about this thief?" he asked.

"Not much yet. We know what time the withdrawal took place, and I see you all have a camera," he pointed up to the ceiling, where the unobtrusive device hung, "So I'm assuming that it's part of your security system?"

"Yes yes! Of course. Check the records!" Elm urged. Matt once again turned to the computer, the others crowding around. He quickly found the security video and skipped to a few minutes before the theft occurred. They could see the figure, just beneath the window, glowing faintly in the harsh contrast of the night/heat vision overlay the camera projected. It was too blurry for details though. It calmly walked over to the lab, not even glancing at any of the other equipment. It switched the computer on, and the glow from the monitor illuminated its face. His face.

"Son of a bitch," Ethan growled.


	5. Chapter 4

It hadn't taken long for Falkner to get the details and inform the League. No one knew who the thief was though. He wasn't in any database that they could find, and just the name Silver wasn't terribly helpful, if that was even his real name at all. Sabrina had teleported in and tried to feel the memory from Ethans mind, but even if such a tenuous connection was viable, someone who had the capability to bypass the storage systems security so easily likely also had access to psychic dampers or other evasion tools.

Elm was flustered, and finally his wife had to come in and drag him home to calm him down. Eventually though the hubbub died down and Matt, along with the rest of the Silph Co security team, left. Sabrina had teleported out again as soon as she had drawn the memory from Ethan, stating tonelessly that she'd inform them if she found anything. Finally it was just Ethan and Falkner left, their respective pokemon perched on their heads.

"Um… sir?" Ethan asked, getting the blue haired man's attention just as he was turning to leave.

"Yes?"

"Are you accepting new trainers?"

"Yeah, always. You old enough?"

"I'm 16."

"Cool. Just show up, I'll teach you everything you need to know," the leader said with an arrogant smirk, turning back to leave.

"Cool, thanks!" he said to the departing figure, who just waved over his shoulder and released a Noctowl, jumping on its back as it took off. It struggled at first to get airborne, but eventually found the wind under its wings. Ethan ambled back to his house, tired from all the running around lately.

"Hi mom!" he called as soon as he stepped inside.

"Hi honey!" she ran up to him and wrapped him in a hug, "How was your trip? Did you have fun? Did you have plenty to eat? What happened over at the lab? You didn't get hurt did you? You smell terrible."

"Wo wo, slow down there," he said, hugging her back quickly, "I'm fine, had no problems, was a lot of fun. Got to meet some cool pokemon, and I got an egg!"

He proudly showed her the egg.

"Oh my, it's very pretty," she said, "Can I touch it?"

"Yeah, just be gentle and stuff," he said, plopping down in a chair and picking up Cyndaquil between his feet. The pokemon squeaked and writhed, and Ethan chuckled. His mother held the egg close, trailing her fingertips against its surprisingly glossy surface.

"It's warm," she said.

"Yup. I'm gonna take it to the professor in the morning. Also, there's something I wanna talk to you about."

"Hmmm?" she murmured, looking up from the egg at him. Despite his lethargy, his eyes were bright and alert, gazing at her.

"I guess it's time for me to go and do all that gym stuff now. That trip… I guess… I dunno. I found a reason to go," he struggled to articulate the feelings he had. While he had always been something of a loner, a trait born of necessity given the small size of his town and the fact that the only other person his age spent the vast majority of her time running around off in the "jungles" as she called them, he had never truly been with just him and his pokemon. It… appealed to him. Made him feel more alert, alive. And then there was the incident with Silver. Ethan wanted… not revenge, but compensation. And honestly, he was a little worried. In a matter of not even three days, that guy had managed to train a brand new pokemon well enough that it nearly took down Cyndaquil, who was both older and had the type advantage. While Ethan and Cyndaquil had never really trained for battling, he was a healthy and active pokemon, and Ethan had a vast repository of knowledge detailing all aspects of both the practical and theoretical aspects of caring for, raising, and training his pokemon. He hadn't expected to be great, but he also hadn't expected to be shown up either. It was a troublesome thought.

His mother nodded, tight lipped and tears forming in her eyes as she gently placed the egg on the table and pulled Ethan close.

"It's always so… unexpected with you," she said, her voice slightly quavering, "Never change for years, and then all of the sudden one day you're all grown up."

He didn't know what to say, and so just hugged her back. She held him tight for a while, then finally sniffed and composed herself.

"So when were you planning on leaving?" she asked, "There's so much to do!"

"Not for a couple days. I still need to talk to Elm about the egg and figure out what they want me to do with it. Don't really know how long that'll take, and it's not like there's any rush," he said.

"Good good," she replied, smiling brightly despite her tears, "Well you need to go take a shower and put your clothes in the laundry, that's just awful."

She wrinkled her nose, and Ethan laughed.

* * *

><p>"Hi!" the voice above him chirped cheerfully.<p>

"GAH!" Ethan flailed and rolled away, falling out of bed. Two bright pairs of eyes peered over at him.

"Kris… what…?" Ethan slurred, sleep making him confused. The girl giggled and shook her head, making her already crazy blue hair even wilder.

"It's time to be up and doing things!" she declared, spreading her arms wide and posing, her energetic Totodile croaking in agreement. He looked at his gear. It read 0448. He growled and got back in bed, burrowing under the blankets.

"Go 'way! Need sleep," he grunted at her. Cyndaquil squeaked in agreement and puffed a smoke ring at the girl.

"You're boring," she pouted.

"Yep," he agreed.

"Is everything alright?" they heard Ethan's mother call from downstairs.

"Yes ma'am," Kris called, "I'm just waking sleepyhead up."

"Oh…. Ok… well, just… please keep it down?" came the mildly concerned reply.

"Yes ma'am," Kris said respectfully, bowing even though she couldn't be seen.

"You know, most boys would be excited to find such a pleasant girl as myself in their room ready and raring to go," she whispered to him, poking him in the forehead. He flopped over and grunted.

"Yeah, I think there's a serious difference between what you're 'ready and raring' to do and what they'd be ready and raring to do," he said.

"You know that, and I know that, but YOU don't know that," she said earnestly. There was a long pause as his sleep-addled brain tried to work through that.

"…what? No, I'm not going to be tricked. Go away. Come back in like… 5 hours," he said.

"Boo! Walter?" she said, addressing the Totodile beside her. It gave what could only be described as a snigger and leapt up on the bed, jaws wide and ready to clamp.

"Ok ok fine!" he grumped, shoving the blue scaled menace off the bed with a thump.

"Yay!" she cheered, though quietly.

"Yeah, goody," he groused, struggling with his shorts, somehow having put both legs in the same hole. Kris facepalmed and sighed, going through his closet to get the rest of his clothes for him and tossing them on the bed.

"Hurry up!" she demanded as he stood up, his shorts finally on properly. He grunted and followed her outside, unconsciously grabbing the egg from the incubator he had created (a heating pad and towels in a cardboard box) on the way out. Cyndaquil quickly burrowed into the vacated warm spot on the bed and fell back asleep.

Once outside the cool predawn air of early spring cleared his head somewhat, and he clutched the egg closer.

"So what is it you want to do so bad?" he asked. She looked at him intently.

"You saw 'Mr. Pokemon'," she stated, making the air quotes with her fingers, Walter comically mimicking her with his stubby arms.

"Yeah. 'Swhere I got my egg," he said proudly, showing her. Her face lit up momentarily, before she uncharacteristically suppressed it.

"Ok, before I get all excited and fluttery, I need to tell you. Be very careful around him," she said, staring intently at him.

"Why? He seemed nice enough."

"NO!" she almost shouted, "No. He is NOT nice. He is… charismatic. He's polite, because he knows it makes people think he's nice, and he can use that to his advantage. But he is not nice. Never ever forget that. I'm sure Elm warned you about him, at least a little. I'm also sure that he downplayed it, because they're much alike. The only thing Elm cares about is his work, and if he has to stretch the truth a bit to further that, he'll do it. You know this, why do you think he's having such problems at home? Just… be careful. They're dangerous, moreso because you don't realize they are."

Ethan looked at her curiously for a moment.

"Two things," he finally said, "I take it you know about the project they were a part of?"

"I know of it. Details are hard to come by though. And I don't have the money or the power to get to Kanto on my own to figure out more," she sighed glumly, "It's funny. I left… civilization because I wanted to be free. But I find the more 'free' I am, the less I can do the things I want. I think I'm gonna start training for real. Maybe check out a gym or something."

"Cool! Me too! I was actually planning on leaving to go to Violet either today or tomorrow," he said excitedly, "We could go together! Show them all how it's done!"

"Really? You're finally leaving? Yay!" she laughed and spun around happily, "That'll be so awesome. I was actually a little nervous. Thanks," she said, smiling sheepishly.

"Of course," he replied, relieved that he wouldn't have to go alone either.

"So what was the other thing?" she asked.

"Oh. Uhhh… did he… do something to you? You seem pretty adamant about not liking him," he said awkwardly, looking away and scratching his head. She froze for a brief moment, but then relaxed.

"Nothing like what you're thinking," she said, smiling and pinching his nose, "One or the other of us wouldn't be alive if that happened. I'm touched though that you were so concerned though. It means a lot."

"Well yeah. I mean, I only got so many friends, can't let something happen to you now can I?" he laughed.

"Nope!" she agreed, "Now! EGG!"

He cautiously handed the egg to her. She was buzzing with excitement, but still held it close and gently.

"I'm so jealous! I can't believe you!"

"Well, I am pretty awesome," he said, tilting his head up and putting on an overplayed air of arrogance.

"Pssh, yeah, I'm sure that's why you got it. Obviously," she giggled, "I want one!"

"Well, next time I run across one, I'll be sure to let you know. Speaking of which, does this mean you're going to get a Gear now?"

"Yeah, I'll just go purchase one with my vast sums of money," she snorted.

"Um hello? I work in a lab. I can get you one for free. One of the many perks of my job."

She stopped and her eyes widened.

"Really? Have I told you how much I love you?"

"I'd be more prone to believing that if it weren't five in the morning," he grumped, but ruined the effect by smiling broadly.

"And can I get pokeballs and a pokedex like a real trainer?" she said, bouncing with excitement.

"Wait. You don't have any pokeballs?" he asked, looking at Walter. The Totodile looked up and croaked at him, "How did you catch him then?"

"I didn't. We're just friends," she said. Walter snapped his jaws twice, as if to agree.

"Interesting…" Ethan mused, "So are you even registered with the League at all?"

"I dunno. I'm not civilized, remember?" she giggled.

"Right. Well if you're going to train in the gyms that's gonna have to change," he said.

"Right…" she said, and busied herself with examining the egg. He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything. They walked in silence together for a while, only interrupted by the occasional outburst from Walter as he zipped around, flipping and snapping at blowing leaves. Finally they reached the edge of the lake. She handed the egg back to him and slipped her bare feet into the frigid water.

"Isn't that cold?" he asked, cuddling the egg close.

"Yes," she shrugged, "Ok here's the deal. I'm not getting registered. I can get by without pokeballs and all that stuff. So. You do the gym thing and learn lots, and then come teach me. And I'll teach you how to live in the jungle. We can cut a lot of travel time off if you don't take the normal routes, and it'll be good experience for you. Good?"

Ethan grinned.

"Good."


	6. Chapter 5

Learning in real life was nowhere near as fun as learning in the lab or from a book. For one, it involved a lot more physical exertion. It's not that Ethan was out of shape, he ran a lot, and was fairly athletic, but he wasn't used to not being able to immediately eat and sleep in a real bed after he was done exercising. It seemed that that played a greater role in the process than he would have imagined.

"Field work is the worst work," Ethan grumbled, trying to resist the urge to get Cyndaquil to burn a path through the forest.

"Whiner," Kris mocked.

"Yes," he agreed, still dour. She laughed and skipped ahead, easily avoiding the Spinarak webs and protruding tree roots that littered the 'path' they were on. They could easily have been in Violet city by now, but Kris was making Ethan do all of the trailfinding work. It took him a while to realize that just going 'northwestish' would not actually get them to where they were going. She explained that you also had to look at where you were and where you were coming from, because going northwest from one point would not give you the same path as going northwest from some other point. A fairly simple concept, but one that was often overlooked. Most of the things she taught him were simply things that should be noticed, not particularly difficult concepts in and of themselves, just required repetition to make them automatic so one wouldn't have to constantly consciously think about them.

"Try not to think about directions in terms of left and right. Instead think in terms of north south east west," she instructed, snatching some Pidgey eggs for their brunch (she still hadn't managed to make him into a morning person).

"How am I supposed to know that without a compass?"

"The sun and stars will tell you."

"And if it's overcast?"

"Well, most grass type pokemon tend to root facing north. Once you get in the habit of it, you'll just always remember," she shrugged.

"That's not really very helpful," he grumped. She shrugged again and returned to frying their breakfast.

* * *

><p>Mewtwo woke up, but remained perfectly still. His eyes didn't open, his heart didn't speed up, no physical indication of his alertness given; one of the perks of being such a powerful psychic. He probed around him with his mind, getting a sense of the type of place he was in.<p>

"No need to be shy," came a voice, slightly amused. Mewtwo grimaced and opened his eyes, looking around him.

He was in a cave or cellar of some sort, dusty slabs of grey and brown stone made up the floor and walls. Half the ceiling was metal struts with strips of lighting hanging from them, while the other half was in shadow, but seemed to be packed dirt and tree roots, gradually scaling down to the cave floor. A Parasect stared at him unblinkingly, occasionally making a soft chittering sound with its mandibles. The lightened side of the room was separated into two sections, one being nothing more than what looked like a giant generator, a Magneton lazily spinning inside a chamber, and the other a medical station. Mewtwo shivered with memories and turned his attention to his captor. He sat up from his prone position, the mattress he had been laying on situated in the middle of the room against the back wall, leaving half in face in shadow, half in light. His captor smiled at him, eyes hidden behind a pair of polarized sunglasses. The two stared at each other for a while.

_What do you want with me_? Mewtwo asked.

"Like I said, to wake you up. But I suppose that requires some clarification, doesn't it?" the… man, smiled, sitting back comfortably in his chair, "Forgive me if I answer you with a question, but what is it that you want?"

Mewtwo was silent for a while as he contemplated his answer.

_I see no reason why I should tell you._ he finally replied.

"I see no reason why you should not," the man countered, his smile widening in a sort of feral glee as he leaned forward, excited.

_You might prevent it from happening. _

"I might also aid you."

_I do not feel quite comfortable receiving any 'aid' from you. _Mewtwo replied, in a tone that would have been dry had he understood the concept of such.

"Allow me to reiterate. I might not prevent you from attaining your goal, which I most undoubtedly will should you not enlighten me."

There was silence for a while as Mewtwo digested this information.

_I want to be strong enough to destroy my enemies._

"Well, that's difficult, now isn't it? Seems like it relies more on your enemies than you. Maybe there's a better goal to be had? There's no need to… evade the truth with me. Or yourself."

This time the silence dragged on for much longer.

* * *

><p>All in all it took over two weeks to get from New Bark to Violet, and Kris had said that the only thing left Ethan could do was just practice. He was rather pleased with himself, though he tried not to let on. The first thing they did was go to the Center, resting up and checking on the egg (still no change). Ethan immediately took advantage of this rare opportunity to sleep on a real bed and passed out, protectively clutching both Cyndaquil and the egg. Kris and Walter shared a chuckle and left to go visit Sprout Tower, where they often stayed, being friends with Elder Li, head of the order of monks that lived there. It was a still and peaceful evening, the building hardly swaying against the backdrop of the setting sun. The chants and prayers of the monks were a gentle susurrus, a steady background hum as she slowly made her way up the tower, admiring the carvings and panels set in the wall as she always did. An odd growling squeak caught her attention. A golden leafy pokemon was prancing happily around a pensive redhead, the large leaf on its head shaking in excitement, while a typically malicious looking Gastly hovering over his shoulder. Her eyes widened, recognizing him as the kid who had robbed the Lab.<p>

"Hey you," she growled, blocking his path. He looked at her, his thoughtful face quickly being replaced by a scowl, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Leaving. Is there a problem with that?" he spat. The Gastly cackled and the other pokemon, she couldn't remember what it was called, began to growl menacingly at her. Walter growled back and began chomping his teeth in agitation.

"Kris," said a smooth gentle voice. She turned and saw Elder Li come walking up behind the redhead, "He is under my protection. Do not hinder him."

"But he's a criminal!" she cried, not moving. Silvers face instantly became a carefully schooled neutrality, the girl going from annoyance to threat in an instant. His hands came out of his pocket, fingers ready to snap.

"I am aware of his… past," the old man said. Silver looked back at the man, wondering at the suspicious pause in his voice. The sage had never let on that he knew anything at all about him.

"But he was my student, for however brief a time, and he is under my protection while in this tower. Please let him go," the old man's eyes were calm and steady, boring into Kris's. Walter began to look uncertain, looking around at everybody for some clue as to what was happening. Finally Kris stepped aside, and Silver hurried past. Even if the old man wouldn't say anything, the girl certainly would. He would have to disappear fast.

"Why'd you let him go?" Kris demanded, following Elder Li back to the top of the tower.

"As I said, he was a student. All my students have my protection, at least within this tower."

"What do you mean your student?" she asked.

"He came to me, asking penetrating questions. He was searching for something. I fear for him."

"Why? Cause he's going to jail? Falker needs to know about this."

"They will not catch him I think. He is too careful for that, too well versed in all the wrong things."

"Master, you know I love you, but if you don't stop being annoyingly vague I will bite you," she threatened. The old man laughed.

"You are right. Please forgive me. I am too far in the habit of philosophy and abstraction. Allow me to elucidate."

They were on the top floor now, just a large empty room, with mats on the floor for meditation. Two healthy looking Bellsprout were rooted in a large basin filled with dark earth, and a Hoothoot roosted upon a stand. The three sat down on the mats.

"As I said, he came to me, searching for something. It was hard to tell at first what his goal was, as I said, he is very careful. He asked about certainty, about truth. While he never showed it, I sensed that some of my answers were frustrating to him. He wanted definite answers. He desired to know how to know something. I explained to him about the philosophy of incompleteness. That is when he lost it. He was furious and began ranting. He was searching for power, or rather a way to overcome it. He wanted to find a way to see every outcome, and be able to pick the one that would be most successful. In that manner, it didn't matter how powerful his opponent was, he would always be able to have a strategy for victory."

"Um Master? What is the philosophy of incompleteness? Why did that make him so angry?"

"The philosophy of incompleteness shows us that if we try to have an unswerving belief in one truth or group of truths even, then we will never be able to find all other truths by logical thought stemming from those beliefs. There will always be things that are true, but that cannot be found with our beliefs. As such, our understanding of truth will always be incomplete."

"I don't understand…"

"It showed him that he can't always pick the best path just by thought alone. That sometimes luck or divine revelation or just a gut feeling will be the only way to discover certain things. He did not like that."

"Why?"

"Because then he can lose. Even a possibility of failure is too much for him. He desired a way to be victorious one hundred percent of the time, and no such way exists outside of sheer luck. He is wise enough to realize that he is fallible, but not wise enough to have accepted that he will eventually fail. It is a dark road he is on."

"Well forgive me if I don't exactly feel sorry for him," she grumped, crossing her arms and pouting, "You know he stole that pokemon?"

"I know," the sage smiled gently and patted her on the back. She raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know?"

"The roots of a Bellsprout run deep and wide my dear, and hear many things."

She became intimately aware of the building swaying back and forth, and recalled the old legend that the pillar in the center of the building was once a giant Bellsprout.

"Ah."

* * *

><p>AUTHORS NOTE: Look up Godel's Incompleteness Theorems for the real life version of the philosophy of incompleteness (I tried to put a link to the wiki in here, but it didn't like it).<p> 


	7. Chapter 6

"And again," Falkner's cool, slightly bored voice drawled. Ethan was trembling, his muscles weak and uncontrollable from the adrenaline and cortisol running rampant through his system.

"C'mon, you can do it," he pleaded, tears in his eyes. Across from them another trainers vacantly grinning Wooper sat in a small pool of water, its cheeks swollen and ready to unleash another high pressure water blast. Cyndaquil was shaking and shivering, a miserable mess. He huddled on the ground, the flame patches on his back steaming as he desperately tried to warm up. His fur did not yet have the incredible insulation powers that he would acquire from his later evolutions, and even the slight chill from the water was enough to sap his energy. The blast came and he rolled sluggishly aside, avoiding the worst of the spray, but was still sent spinning, ending up on his back. He was shivering so bad that he couldn't even roll over.

"Well I guess that's all," said Falkner cheerfully, "Go ahead."

Ethan rushed forward and gently picked Cyndaquil up in a towel, vigorously rubbing him as he rushed out the door to the Center, not even stopping to give his usual glare at the nonchalant gym leader. He almost couldn't see for the tears of frustration in his eyes. He remembered back to the first day he had arrived at the gym.

He had been set in the group with all the other trainers who didn't have any badges yet, all of them slightly nervous and rather conspicuously trying not to show it. They had watched as other, more powerful trainers, some with as many as five badges, went at it; the roars of pokemon and shouts of trainers mingling to form the background music that they would hear nonstop until they finally attained their badge. After watching for about ten minutes or so and being sufficiently awed Falkner had come over to them.

"Hello, you all sure picked a bitch of a gym to start off with," he had laughed, "I specialize in flying pokemon, like my father before me. Before we start, are any of you trying to become gym trainers here with me?"

Only one kid had raised her hand, a mousy brown haired girl with a Murkrow sitting on her shoulder. Falkner had grinned warmly at her.

"Excellent, go over and talk to the fellow with all the Spearows. He'll get you all signed up. As for the rest of you, my gym is all about overcoming your weaknesses. Both personally and as a trainer. Every pokemon has a weakness, a vulnerable spot. An area that can be exploited, allowing a much weaker enemy to defeat you. And quite frankly, that's just embarrassing, now isn't it? In the same way, you all have weaknesses. Maybe you're impulsive and don't think things through, or maybe you don't work well in a team. In order to receive my badge, you will have to overcome these weaknesses. Unless of course any of you really want to go ahead and challenge me now?" he smirked. Nobody moved an inch.

"Well at least we know you're not completely stupid!" Falkner had laughed, and then waved his trainers over. Then had begun the oddest three hours of Ethan's life. Seemingly normal events such as brief sparring sessions had been followed by running around in circles, or taking a math test, or holding your breath. Pokemon had to jump off ledges into their trainers arms, immediately followed by repeating a nonsense string of words. By the end of it both the pokemon and their trainers were exhausted, and one trainer had already dropped out.

"Alrighty then, that's all for today. This is the shortest day you'll ever have the rest of your time here, so enjoy it while you can. As I'm sure most of you have guessed, that was all just a test so we can find what areas you're weak in and what areas you're strong in. You're free to go now and do whatever, though I would encourage you all to stay and watch the others train. Be here tomorrow at seven. Peace," Falkner had waved and returned to his loft overlooking the gym.

That was over a week ago, and ever since then, Cyndaquil had been forced to get pummeled into unconsciousness by a water pokemon every single day. He held Cyndaquil tight against his body, wrapping his sweatshirt around them as he walked.

_It's not right! It's cruel and it's wrong and it's bad and what am I going to do? _He thought, frustration and fury building. He couldn't stand to see Cyndaquil hurt like this. While a part of him knew that all the other trainers were going through something equally as difficult, and that hundreds if not thousands of trainers had successfully gotten the gym badge, he felt despair. He looked into the future and saw nothing but day after day of the same torment of seeing Cyndaquil like this, and he knew that he couldn't take it. It hadn't even been a month and he was already a failure. He walked up to the Center, hesitated at the doorway, then turned aside and leaned against the wall, slowly falling into a slump. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, zoned out, but finally a finger flicked his nose and brought him back.

"Hallooooooo?" Kris asked, drawing out the word obnoxiously. Ethan just grunted. She sat down beside him and stuffed some jerky down his shirt. Cyndaquil woke up from its exhausted haze and devoured the strip, squeaking happily. Ethan giggled involuntarily as the tiny pokemon squirmed against his ribs, but the smile left as soon as the movement stopped. It was quiet for a while.

"I was slash am not adequately prepared for this," he stated. Kris looked over at him.

"The gyms are all about learning and growing, right? You don't need preparation for that. You're not supposed to be 'prepared'. If you were, you'd already know it and then wouldn't need the training, now would you. Silly."

Ethan grunted again. It was quiet again.

"You are correct," he finally acknowledged, "But…"

He hesitated, vainly trying to put emotion into intelligible sound.

"It sounds stupid, but I just really really don't like this. I don't want to do it. I can't stand it. Like, looking at it objectively, I can see some good things that will result from this. Cyndaquil will certainly be stronger. I'm learning more about the limits of strength and endurance and how best to work around and through said limits. I even presume that once I finish I will be emotionally tougher, and be able to think more clearly during tense situations, which is what I assume my 'weakness' is. But all that doesn't matter in the face of…"

He hesitated again.

"I'm afraid. I'm scared and frustrated. I'm beginning to show signs of stress induced depression. I can't even really get angry anymore, that seems to take more energy than I have. I look forward into the projected future, and even though I know there's a high likelihood of a good outcome, there's so much fear of what I'll have to go through to get there that it doesn't seem worth it. Really, I can't even remember what I started this for. I can remember the words I said, but not the conviction that drove me. But I don't know how to quit. I'll just keep running into this wall until I get tired and start jogging into it instead, and then walking into it, then crawling, and then finally I'll just be leaning up against it and it'll still be standing there and I'll never get through it. And I can't just quit, I can't just fail so soon. So many people before me have probably felt this way and they've all gotten through and gotten their badge. I can say without bragging that I am far more qualified and capable than at least eighty some percent of the people that have walked through this gym, so if they can do it I certainly can. But I don't want to anymore. I just want to go back home and read my books and forget this whole thing ever happened. But I can't do that because everyone else will remember too and I don't want to fail and even if they're still supportive, they'll know I failed and change their behavior towards me to reflect that knowledge and I can't stand the thought of that."

He looked like he wanted to keep ranting, to cycle and repeat the same things with different words, but he stopped, fists clenched and eyes closed.

"It's so stupid," he growled, hanging his head.

Kris took his hat off and started playing with his hair, smoothing it out and combing it into different styles with her fingers, smooth jet-black strands contrasting with pale hands. He sighed and fell onto his side, his head in her lap.

"You take yourself awful seriously," she said. He grunted again.

"Really. You sound like a girl!"

He barked a short humorless laugh.

"You care about all this. But you're not caring about it right. Caring is something you do, not something you feel. You think that feeling it harder or worse means that you care more, but it doesn't. Caring more would be finding a way to fix the problem. You're the smartest person I know. There are Alakazams out there that would give up a spoon to be as smart as you. You'll figure something out."

Ethan blinked away tears, putting his hat over his face.

"I'm such a woman," he laughed.

"Pssh, you wish you were a woman. More like a little girl. It's a good thing I wear the pants, otherwise you'd be lost and directionless all the time."

"Of course," he chuckled. They stayed sitting like that outside of the center until the sun finished setting and the stars began their dance.

* * *

><p><em>Meganium for toughness. Gengar for deception. And now, Crobat for speed, <em>Silver ticked off in his head as he held the pokeball with a newly captured Zubat. Many trainers considered the pokemon and its evolutionary line all but worthless, more a nuisance than a true fighter. But Silver had seen firsthand what a properly trained Crobat could do. And it was terrifying.

_Now I just need some offensive power, _he grinned mercilessly. In the darkness of the cave, Silver leaned his head back and breathed out slowly. It was coming together. He had a plan, had a purpose. Now he just had to bring it all together. He snapped his fingers and his Bayleef and Gastly rushed to his side.

"Let's go," He commanded, and so they went.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note Thingy: <strong>Really sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Some stuff happened in the middle of writing, and I had to drop it for a few weeks, after which of course I forgot where I was going with everything and so had to go back through it all in my head. Also: I'm lazy. That didn't help either. Yeah...


	8. Chapter 7

_Are you sure this is necessary? _Mewtwo asked, eyeing the Master Ball distrustfully.

"Yes," the man said simply.

_Why?_

"You are powerful yes. Beyond powerful. I know of few beings that could even hope to match you. The problem is, you are not very versatile. Due to a basic exploit, I, a much weaker being than you, was able to defeat you with minimal effort. You were designed to be more than just strong, you were designed to be overwhelming. As you are now, you are not. And without this knowledge, it will take decades, if not longer, before you even have a hope of realizing your potential. Is that your wish?"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed.

_Fine._

A beam of red light sprang from the ball and deconstructed the pokemon, then faded away. A small bing and a flash of light later, and it was done. The man stared at the Master Ball for a while, thoughtful, then shook his head and slipped it into a port on his computer, the ball clicking into place. A drive opened, and the first of many TMs was entered. He sat back and stared at the ceiling, and the tiny Crobat hanging there sleeping. A slight smile played across his face, and for a moment, he was peaceful.

* * *

><p>"That's good, keep it up!" Ethan shouted, to a vaguely amorphous haze of smoke. The opposing trainer's Wartortle was grunting and snapping in frustration, vainly trying to see through the smoke so it could blast its opponent. The smoke finally increased in volume enough that even the Wartortle was enveloped. Grunts, squeaks, and the snapping of jaws were all that could be discerned from the inky cloud for a minute. Then silence. The pokemons trainers, as well as the observers all vainly tried to peer through the haze, and a frenzy of last minute betting ensued. Then without warning a blinding burst of light scattered the smokescreen. In its place was a very confused Quilava, sitting atop a very disgruntled Wartortle. Ethan's eyes went wide as the room erupted into a confused cacophony of victorious shouts, exclamations of dismay, and at least one gasp of disbelief. High up in the rafters, Kris and Falkner sat together, both looking down with various expressions of pleasure. Walter, now somewhat chubby in his Crocanaw form, grunted, unimpressed with his counterparts late evolution. Below them Ethan was hugging a very distracted Quilava, who seemed mostly concerned with figuring out how his legs had gotten so long. Many trainers came up and offered congratulations before eventually heading back to collect on their bets. Through it all though, Ethan only had eyes for Quilava, pride and joy and love welling up in unexpected amounts. Finally, after months now, his, their, work and pain had paid off. Suddenly the flame patches on Quilava's head and rear flared up, singing Ethan.<p>

"Ah fuckshit!" he flailed wildly, much to the amusement of both Quilava and the gathered trainers. The volcano pokemon barked in amusement and continued amusing itself by starting and extinguishing its flames. Ethan just glared at him.

"Well done," Falkner said, coming up behind Ethan as the last of the onlookers finally wandered off to observe other battles.

"Thank you sir," Ethan said, still finding it difficult to take his eyes from Quilava for any real length of time.

"So tell me, what have you learned? What do you think your weakness was?"

Ethan thought for a moment, running his fingers through Quilavas fur.

"Well, I had several I suppose. I think my biggest was that I was... unprepared for my own reactions to the stresses. That it occurred wasn't unexpected, this being my first gym and all, but the magnitude of it took me by surprise. So I guess my emotional resiliency, or rather lack thereof, was slash is my weakness."

Falkner just looked at him for a moment, his expression that cool amusement that revealed nothing of his thoughts.

"Follow me," he finally said, and turned towards the back of the gym. Ethan and Quilava did so, following him into an elevator. Silence as it went up and up, to the top of the gym. They stepped out onto the roof, the bright sunlight. Kris and Walter were already up there, lazily sunning themselves. They walked over to the edge, overlooking the entire city.

"No," Falkner said finally, "Your 'emotional resiliency' is not your weakness. The problem is, while I know what your weakness is, it's not something I can really help you with, and telling you what it is will make it that much harder to get over it. Amusingly enough, it's the same problem I had. My father had to knock it out of me. In a most unpleasant fashion," he paused for a moment, remembering, "I think family are the only people who can help you get rid of your weakness. Regardless however, you have more than earned this badge, and I look forward to hearing about your future career."

A confused and stunned Ethan looked at the badge, gleaming platinum in the shape of a pair of wings, folded back as if the bird were diving.

"I don't...?" Ethan stuttered.

"I know," Falkner smirked, "You'll come back at least two more times, one furious and the other contrite. Looking forward to it!"

And with that he jumped off the edge of the building, releasing his Noctowl and soaring into the sky.

"What just happened...?" Ethan asked.

"You got a badge, cause youz a bad muthafuckaaaaaa!" Kris sang.

"I think I need to go lie down."

* * *

><p>"Hurry up," Proton growled, the knife in his hands flashing as it spun and jabbed imaginary opponents. The Rocket grunts under him looked up briefly, some with fear, but others with an almost religious adoration, then hurried back to their duties. The Slowpoke were slowly being herded into the well under cover of night. Very, very slowly. Proton did not like anything that didn't respond to pain. He was at something of a loss about what to do. Which made him even more temperamental than usual. He nicked his thumb and sucked at the blood contemplatively. This was going to take a while.<p>

* * *

><p>"Um, sir... we've got a problem," the gym trainer said.<p>

"What's that?" Bugsy asked, turning from his Scyther.

"All the Slowpoke are gone."

Bugsy blinked for a bit, surprised.

"Really? Interesting," he turned back to his desk and activated a pokeball. A Butterfree materialized. They looked at each other for a moment, then the bug pokemon flew off into the rising sun.

"Thank you, we'll find out what's going on," the gym leader replied, turning back to whatever he had been reading, "I'm sure it's nothing."


	9. Chapter 8

"Aaron."

"No."

"Aaron."

"No."

"Aaron."

"I said I'm not naming him Aaron!"

"You don't have to, it's already his name, isn't it Aaron?" Kris cooed, scratching the Quilavas neck. Ethan sighed. Aaron purred.

They were currently wandering through Union Cave, following a dimly lit trail that wound through the short tunnels connecting Violet City with Azalea Town. It was chilly in the cave, and they were both bundled up, which also served to protect them from the Zubat guano that occasionally dropped from the ceiling.

"I don't know how, but we've managed to find yet another aspect of nature that I hate," Ethan grumped, shoulders hunched and hood pulled as far over his face as he could get it.

"You are just determined to complain about everything aren't you?" she replied, not seeming to mind the cold, though she was wary of the droppings.

"No, just all the things that I don't like."

"Which is everything."

"Only everything so far," he said, grinning. They laughed. They had set out from Violet just a few days ago, backpacks full with food and a few new toys bought with the purse for getting his badge (which Ethan quickly pinned to the inside of his jacket so he could dramatically sweep it out on the off chance that anyone ever wanted to see it. So far no one had, but he remained hopeful). So far they had made excellent time, the path was fairly tame and the weather had been wonderful, always warm and sunny, but with enough clouds that it didn't get hot. They had even stopped by the bay to swim for a bit and watch the sunset over the ocean.

Suddenly in Kris stopped in front of him, holding up her hand for quiet. Ethan stopped and looked around. He suddenly realized how silent it had become.

"What's going on?" he whispered.

"Shhh!" Kris shushed. It was quiet for a bit more, the entire cave expectant of some momentous event. And then, as if the cave itself were breathing, the music came. It was slow and soft and resonant, speaking of deep places and long times. It echoed around them, probing at them. Ethan could feel it humming in his chest, feel his hands tingle. For hours the cave sang, and all within stood transfixed; the normal course of nature halted for this brief moment as predator and prey together were halted in their struggle.

Finally though, it ended, the echoes fading out as ripples on water eventually do. Ethan opened his eyes and stood up, not even remembering having sat down, beside him a Sandshrew waddling off as well. Sound slowly returned to the cave, as if reluctant to try and fill the silence the music had left behind. But fill it it did.

"What was that?" Ethan asked.

"It's Friday," Kris said, smiling hugely.

"…What?" Ethan asked again.

"Come on! It's gonna be dark before we get out of here!" she cried, pulling at his arm. Aaron shook itself vigorously and followed after them, alert and energetic once more.

* * *

><p>The door opened. In waddled a chubby pink pokemon.<p>

"Junior?" the grumpy looking old man asked.

"Hello Kurt," the pokemon said, yawning.

"JUNIOR!" a little girl squealed, sprinting over and tackle hugging him.

"Hello Maisy," Junior said, hugging the girl back, "How are you?"

"I'm good! Are you here to help find the Slowpoke?" she asked.

"Yes, don't worry, they'll be back soon," he said ponderously.

"Oh really?" Kurt grunted.

"Yes, he's almost here. Get ready," Junior replied, psychically levitating Maisy, much to the child's delight.

"Keep her safe," Kurt ordered, grumbling as he wrapped his old pokeball bandolier around his chest. He kissed Maisy on the forehead and stomped outside into the fading dusk. The door slammed shut.

"Okay," Junior finally responded.

* * *

><p>"Oh look. Rain," Ethan monotoned. Kris danced around, the rain slicking her hair back against her head.<p>

"Grumpy grumpy grumpy grumpy!" she sang. Ethan sighed and then returned Aaron to his pokeball when he noticed the pokemon nuzzling his belt.

"C'mon, let's hurry," he grumped.

"Rain rain rain rain," Kris continued to sing, skipping in circles around him, Walter following in her footsteps, albeit less gracefully. Ethan sighed again (it was swiftly becoming his most common form of communication) and began trudging down the path. He hated rain.

After a few minutes of walking later they saw a crowd ahead of them, all huddled together. Ethan and Kris sped up, curious.

"Alright, hit fast and stay in cover. We're here to capture, not kill. Josh and I will get point, Amy and May got support. Al right, Benny left. Remember, this is Team Rocket we're dealing with, they will try and kill you if they think they can, and they're known to use guns. If I pop a flare, you get out of there as fast as you can. Understood?"

"Team Rocket?" Ethan asked, surprising the group.

"Get to town, now," a kid with purple hair ordered.

"No," came another voice, deeper and surly.

"Excuse me?" the kid glared at the new voice, "What authority do you have- Oh. Kurt."

"Bugsy," Kurt nodded towards the gym leader. Ethan's eyes were getting wider and wider.

"There's someone down there I think you'll want to meet," Kurt said, turning towards Ethan.

"Um… me?" he replied, confused.

"No one goes down unless I say so!" Bugsy snapped. Kurt gave a level look at the young gym leader.

"Send those other whelps home, we won't be needing them. This is from a higher authority than you or I son."

Bugsy paused for a moment.

"Get back to town. Don't let anybody in or out. I'll be back."

The four gym trainers looked at each other and then Kurt nervously, but did as they were told. Ethan and Kris fidgeted nervously.

"Well, c'mon," the old man growled, turning towards the well, "Don't wanna be late."

Suddenly a roar sounded from the well. Kurt's scowl deepened. They all ran towards the entrance, climbing down the rain slicked ladder as quickly as they could. It was chaos inside, pokemon battling all over the place. Then Ethan saw him, standing unmoved in the midst of the chaos, his pokemon protecting him as the hoard of Radicates and Golbats tried to get to him. It was amazing, his Bayleef standing strong, shooting out razor sharp leaves and vines at lethal speeds, while his Gastly hung back and cursed everything in sight, protected by a shimmering Reflect wall, and above them all a singularly determined Zubat was screeching and zipping back and forth, distracting and confusing everyone it could. The members of Team Rocket were huddled in the back of the room behind whatever cover they could find, most bruised and bleeding from when they had been caught unawares. One however was still standing, a cool amused smirk twisting his face. The red R emblazoned on his uniform shining like the blood that was still dripping from his knife.

"Get the Slowpoke out of here," he ordered, glaring down at the cowering grunts. They looked up nervously, looked back at the knife in the man's hands, and gulped, sprinting from cover to the back of the well where a number of oblivious Slowpoke were wallowing in the mud.

"It's time for me to have fun," he said, licking some blood off his knife. He charged straight into the fray, releasing a Crobat and a Wheezing as he did so. Silver, grunted in annoyance and whistled.

"Reflect," he ordered, pointing. His Bayleef shook itself and focused, the Reflect that had been guarding the Ghastly reappearing in front of it, but much bigger now, completely blocking the narrow plateau that he had been standing on.

"I guess that's our cue," Kurt said as the Radicate hurled themselves against the obstruction and the Golbat tried to fly around. He activated a pokeball and out came an odd looking red rock. Then numerous tentacles snaked out of it, revealing it as a Shuckle. Bugsy released his famous Scyther, and Ethan released Aaron, the pokemon quickly flaring up at the scent of blood.

Silver saw he was trapped and glared at the newcomers.

"Get out of my way," he ordered flatly, his Gastly leering at them from over his shoulder.

"I don't think so," Ethan growled. Silver raised an eyebrow, then recognized Ethan.

"Oh. You," he said, almost bored.

"Get him!" Ethan shouted, and the group's pokemon all charged at the red haired boy.

Silver didn't flinch, merely said two words.

"Night Shade."

The cave went dark, screams and shouts of pokemon and human alike resounding as their fear took hold of them. It was just a brief second, but that was all the time Silver needed. He quickly recalled his pokemon and then activated his escape rope, feeling the pull as he was instantly teleported away.

For a moment both groups of pokemon hesitated, Rockets and assorted trainers confused, then the battle began anew, the new pokemon charging into the old. While some of the Rockets pokemon were already down, the newcomers were still outnumbered. Not that it made much of a difference. Scyther tore through their ranks, hamstringing Radicates and clipping the wings of the Golbats. Then Protons Crobat slammed into his back, latching on as the bladed pokemon fell to the ground, trying to get back up. Walter and Aaron quickly finished up the few remaining Radicate and Golbat with flame and fang, then turned to focus on the Wheezing. As they were distracted, an Arbok rose up behind them, only to get jerked away as the tiny Shuckle wrapped its noodly arms around the serpent. Arbok responded by constricting the offender, only to quickly unravel and hiss in agony as its sides were eaten by acid. The serpent writhed and flailed, attempting to dislodge the oozing bug, but to no avail. Back in the corner now gobs of acid were being countered with precision blasts of water and fire as Wheezing floated between Aaron and Walter, acid spitting from both heads. Proton glared, seeing the opposing trainers closing in on him and his cohorts now cowering in the corner.

"Damn it!" he snarled, looking desperately back and forth.

"Smokescreen!" he yelled, throwing his knife at the gym leader as he did so. Bugsy dove out of the way as a thick noxious haze appeared around the combatants. Again chaos resumed, the battles quickly stopping as vision was cut off.

Bugsy reached down and activated a pokeball, his Butterfree coming out.

"A breeze please," he asked, and the pokemon complied, flapping its wings and blowing the smog away. Neither Proton nor his pokemon were to be found, only the still writhing corpses of the three Rocket members, a deep stab wound in each of their throats. There was a stunned silence as the group stared in shock at the sight.

"Holy fuck," Ethan whispered, sinking to his knees. His stomach churned in nausea. Kris ran out of the well, Walter following behind her as best it could.

"Well," Bugsy said shakily, "We… need to get the… bodies out of here. Water contamination and all."

He tried to stand up, gagged, and threw up. Kurt looked over at the two kids, gym leader and trainer. His face softened slightly.

"You get the Slowpoke back to town, I'll deal with the bodies here," he said, patting the gym leader on the back.

"Right. Yeah. I can do that. Right," he said, finally pulling himself to his feet. Ethan did as well and joined him, carefully not looking at the bodies as they slowly herded the dopey pokemon out of the well.

"That could've gone better," Kurt sighed, looking down at his Shuckle, his face for once furrowed with sorrow rather than surliness. He rubbed his eyes and got to work.


	10. Chapter 9

Nothing but silence filtered through the speakers, not even the barest crackle of static.

"So, they're back," said a womans voice, her screen black enough to be confused for off.

"Not necessarily. It could simply be a splinter group, or a new group capitalizing on the name's reputation," the ninja said.

"They're not a threat, it was only four of them and they were trying to harvest Slowpoke tails. Not enough money in it to do anything worthwhile with, even on the underground," grunted the warrior dismissively.

"What I'm more interested in is that... Silver. He stole a pokemon and then fights Team Rocket? Maybe they were indeed a splinter group, one that he was tasked to eliminate," the masked man drawled.

"What idiot takes on Team Rocket with that party? They don't exactly branch out much when it comes to pokemon useage, and he had absolutely zero tactical advantage whatsoever," the woman said with disdain.

"You forget that he was also winning with that party, and in addition managed to elude a group consisting of both a gym leader and Kurt. He had everything planned and ready to go, and his pokemon were tightly disciplined. Need I remind you that few enough of us had that much success against the Rockets?" the ninja pointed out. There was silence as the group digested this.

"Which raises another point. What was Kurt doing there? He hasn't been active in anything in decades. It is very unlike him to suddenly develop a sense of civic duty," the masked man asked, picking at a fingernail thoughtfully. Another silent pause before the swish of a cloak brought them back to attention.

"Talk to Kurt. Talk to Oak. Seperately. Something's happening. Something deliberately being hidden from us. Go."

They went. The screens went dark. Lance sat back down, running a hand through his crimson hair. He stared into the darkness for a while, then nodded.

"Well Agatha, guess it's time to wake you up again."

* * *

><p>The fairy danced around him, chirping and squeaking happily. They danced, spinning in circles and then falling down, dizzy. Mewtwo looked down at them, expressionless. Finally the man put his forehead against the fairy's.<p>

_This is the one I told you about. A new friend. Help him, and he will protect you as I have._

Celebi floated up to Mewtwo. She peered at him curiously, studying him intently. He shifted, uncomfortable at the scrutiny. She chirped, and pressed her forehead against his. His world turned to light, and for a time, that was all that mattered.

* * *

><p>"I got to be a gym leader because I know my pokemon better than anyone else in the world," he said, his Scyther as always standing rather menacingly behind him," and hopefully that's what you'll be able to say when you're done here as well. Get to know your pokemon. Learn about them. See what they can do, what they can't. Try new things. Explore possibilities. Let them grow. We have research facilities almost as good as Silph has, feel free to use anything you want. In order to get my badge, you have to submit a comprehensive thesis on one of your pokemon. I want everything to be in there. Lab reports, case studies, psych studies, examinations, everything. By the time you're done, you should know your pokemon better than you know yourself. That is how you will become great."<p>

Ethan was excited. This was his speciality. Research, that he could do. He again shunted aside his lingering terror at the events in the well and his grief at not being able to find Kris in favor of his mission. Stepping into the lab was like stepping into a different world. Outside the gym, Azaela Town was very much like New Bark. Small, quiet, peaceful. But inside, inside was a different story.

"So you new here huh?" a man asked him, smiling broadly, shaking Ethans hand.

"Yeah, just getting settled in," Ethan replied, shifting his backpack so both shoulder straps were on.

"Good good, this is a great place. What are you gonna be studying here? Your Quilava there?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Not really a whole lot of other options yet," he replied sheepishly.

"That's a good pokemon. Rare. Saw a battle a Typhlosion was in once. Powerful pokemon. Versatile. You ever done research before?"

Ethan blinked at the sudden topic change.

"Well yeah actually. I'm from New Bark, and I worked with Elm. He was basically my entire education."

"Really! Wow, that's impressive. He's a great scientist, very good. I've read several of his papers, top stuff top stuff. How did you like it?"

"Oh it was great. I really enjoy stuff like that, reading up on things, experiments, whatever the latest stuff is."

"Excellent, excellent. Hey how would you like to do that full time?"

"...What do you mean?" Ethan said cautiously.

"Well, I represent a pharmacutical research company based out of Cianwood. We're always interested in upcoming talent, and are currently recruiting for various positions. I'm sure that with your background you'll fit right in with us!" the man said, his smile impeccable.

"Oh... um... well that's not really something I've ever worked in before... and I'm really just here to get my badge..."

"Of course of course. There's no rush at all. And like I said, we've got various positions open, there's lots of aspects to our work that most people wouldn't think of at first. Tell you what, you just do your thing, write your thesis and let me take a look at it. I've been here for a while, I can help you out on what kind of stuff will really impress Bugsy. Then after you've gotten your badge, we can talk again about you coming to work for us," the man pushed a button on his gear and tapped it against Ethans, "There, now you have my information, feel free to give me a call whenever!"

"Uh, yeah, thanks," Ethan said, pulling back from the man and hurrying off, somewhat unnerved by the experience. He quickly grew accustomed to it though, as he was approached by three more 'representatives' on his way to his assigned room, all eager to recruit a former student of Elm's.

"I'm going to have to start wearing a disguise," he said out loud as he finally got to his room, shutting and locking the door against any more enthusiastic suitors. Aaron sniffed around the room a bit and instantly settled on the bed, rumpling the sheets. Ethan went over to the rooms computer and called his mom.

"Oh hi honey!" she said, smiling brightly.

"Hey mom," he said tiredly.

"You look terrible dear, are you ok? Have you been eating right?" she asked, worried. He looked at her for a moment, tears welling up in his eyes. He wiped them away and told her about the past week, all about the well, about how Kris was gone, how everybody was trying to get him to work for them. It didn't take long for his words to die down.

"Well, obviously you need a real meal," she finally said, focusing on the problems she could fix with the singleminded determination only a mother could muster, "I'll transfer some money to your account baby, go out and treat yourself on me, ok?"

He laughed and she smiled at him, forcing happiness through her worry and anxiety.

"Thanks mom, I love you," he said, forming a heart with his hands.

"Love you too darling," she said blowing a kiss at him before hanging up. She sat there quietly for a while, the clock on the wall ticking, her hands curled in her lap, one inside the other. Suddenly she threw her head back and screamed, a banshee wail of grief and pain. The sound ripped out of her throat, leaving her breathless and sobbing, ears ringing. She curled up on the couch as the tears struggled to come out, pulling out a picture of her son and gazing at it. He was her everything, her only. All that she had left. She hugged the picture close and prayed the prayers of the desperate.


	11. Chapter 10

The soothing flow of reading, checking, testing, reading more, and recording had blocked the unpleasant memories from his mind. He'd fell into his work, to the point that even the most dedicated of researchers, most at least a decade or two older than him, took note. The representatives eyed each other and jockeyed for position to be ignored by his locked door. For the few times that he had felt the need to leave the gym he simply left via his window, usually during pre-dawn hours. Some field work had to be done after all. For weeks he'd been studying, running batteries of tests and examinations on Aaron that the pokemon reluctantly resigned himself to. He was sitting at his desk, slowly recording the results of the latest fMRI scan. Suddenly Aaron's head perked up as they heard a rattle at the door, and then it opened.

"Come quick!" Kris said excitedly, pulling at a stunned Ethan's arm.

"Kris?" Ethan asked, confused, then more excitedly, "Kris!"

For the first time in weeks his face broke into something other than a frown of concentration and he pulled the girl into a hug. She laughed and hugged him back.

"Obviously," she said, sliding out of his arms and pulling him out into the hallway.

"I'm glad you're back," he said, rushing after her. She flashed him a brief smile.

"Also, how'd you open my door...?"

She winked at him.

"That's not comforting..." he said.

"Oh my gosh hurry up we're going to miss him!" she urged.

"Miss who?" he asked.

"Dat ass," she said excitedly.

"Uhhhh...?"

They finally arrived at the battle floor of the gym, where the floor was absolutely packed.

"What's going on?" Ethan asked, looking around.

"He's battling Bugsy for the badge!" some guy said, overhearing the question.

"Who?" Ethan asked.

"Dat. Ass," Kris said again, spinning Ethan around to see a large man standing on one side of the field, arms crossed and a lazy grin on his face, his pose mirrored by the extraordinarily large Machamp behind him. He was tanned and ruggedly handsome, dressed in old faded jeans and a leather vest over a dusty white t-shirt. He looked like a cowboy from an old western, worn, but still tough and comfortable. A machete was strapped to his lower back, with a travel pack at his feet. He scratched at his short dirty blonde hair, fingerless leather gloves almost indistinguishable from his skin. The crowd hushed as Bugsy walked in, looking small and pale compared to the challenger. He walked over to the man.

"So you wanna challenge me huh?" Bugsy asked, grinning happily, "Doesn't happen too often anymore, I'm excited. Mind if I ask what badges you've got?"

"Sure," the man said, voice deep and just slightly rough. He reached down in his pack and pulled out a box, flipping it open. Eight gleaming badges. Bugsy whistled.

"All the badges in Kanto. Impressive. How many of those did you battle for?"

"Brock, Sabrina, and Erika," the man said.

"Well well," Bugsy said appreciatively, "I'm pleased that you came here for your first Johto battle. Hope I don't disappoint."

The man laughed.

"Naw man, I've heard you're good. That Scyther of yours eh? Yeah, I got a pokemon that's been itching to go toe to toe with it. Wanna see who's better with blades?"

Bugsy raised an eyebrow.

"A one on one for the badge?"

"Hell yeah," the man said, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright!" Bugsy laughed and shook the mans hand, then walked back to his side of the field, waving the ref over. His Scyther was agitated, buzzing its wings and rubbing it's blades against each other, sparks flying with every stroke. The ref examined the Scyther, then gave Bugsy a thumbs up.

"Name and pokemon please," the ref asked the man.

"Name's Blake," he said, and released his pokemon. A Kabutops materialized in a flash of light, crouched down low and examining it's surroundings. The room instantly buzzed with shock as everyone gaped at the incredibly rare pokemon. Bets started being called out almost faster than the bookies could write them down, and news casters and camera crews were furiously talking into their microphones.

The two pokemon eyed each other as the ref checked over the Kabutops, finally okaying it and retreating off the field.

"Standard duel rules. On my whistle. FIGHT!" the ref shouted. The pokemon charged at each other. Watching them fight was an incredible experience for Ethan. They were so fast, attacks lashing out and being blocked or dodged literally faster than he could see. He knew he could watch the slowmo later, but he still strained to keep up with the action, eyes wide and unblinking. Much like everyone else in the gym. The pokemon were fairly evenly matched. Kabutops's defences were much stronger, it's rocky exoskeleton allowing it to take a good amount of damage, but Scyther was so unbelievably fast it easily countered the difference. At first it looked like Scyther had the advantage, quickly landing hits, but they did little damage, the bug pokemon unable to find a weak spot in the armor. The green blur flashed around the slower rock pokemon, hitting, but unable to hit hard for fear of the merciless counterattack that inevitably would follow each strike. The battle raged, sparks exploding from where the blades slammed into each other, screeches and hisses gnawing at the onlookers ears. The three minute mark was passed, with little sign of damage on either pokemon, a few splashes of greenish ichor from Scyther, a few gouges in Kabutops's armored hide. The pokemons blades locked together with a painful clash, the pokemon pushing at each other to find an opening. The heavier Scyther was pushing Kabutops back, it's clawed feet digging into the grass of the field. Kabutops hissed and strained, thrashing against it's opponents lock, slowing it's progress to a halt. It was a tense few seconds as the struggle continued, before Blake shouted.

"Substitute!"

Kabutops closed it's eyes and a puff of smoke appeared behind it, from which emerged... another Kabutops? Scyther screamed in rage and ripped the clone apart, just in time for Kabutops to shoulder check it to the ground, stomping on it's leg to pin it to the ground. Kabutops screeched in triumph and raised a blade high, preparing to drive it home. The ref whistled frantically, and the crowd leaned forward, unable to take their eyes away.

"Shit, it's gonna kill it!" Ethan said.

The blade came down, only to be knocked away by a machete. Blake kicked the fossil pokemon it the stomach, causing it to stagger back and release Scyther, who was quickly returned by Bugsy. The enraged pokemon swung again, spitting in fury. Blake ducked under the swipe and shot forward, grabbing the pokemon by the throat with his free hand while he blocked yet another attack with his machete.

"HEY! HEY! NO!" he yelled at the pokemon, pushing it back. It continued to struggle, only to be wrapped up in Machamps four arms, feet dangling uselessly in the air. Blake wiped his forehead and sheathed his machete.

"Calm down," he order his pokemon, looking sternly at it. The pokemon quit struggling and locked gazes with it's trainer. The Machamp put it back down and it quickly hunched up, sulkily making itself as small as possible.

"Go. Hunt," Blake said, and the pokemon took off outside. He activated another pokeball and a Ninetails appeared.

"Go watch him please," he asked the pokemon, who quickly nuzzled his hand before taking off.

"Thanks Boss," he said, patting the Machamp on the shoulder. It merely grunted and twisted its mouth into what resembled a grin.

"Sorry 'bout that," Blake laughed nervously, rubbing one grizzled cheek, "Fossil pokemon and all, still not used to doing anything other than killing to eat. And some anger issues too. Working on that."

"I can see that," Bugsy said wryly, though his clenched fists belied his tension, "Well, regardless, you certainly won. Congratulations, here's your badge."

"Thank you," Blake said, shaking the gym leaders hand and taking the badge appreciatively. He didn't even get all the way back across the field before being swamped by reporters.

"Well, that was interesting," Ethan said thoughtfully.

"He fucking manhandled a Kabutops," Kris said, "Did you see that? I saw that. Fucking. Ahh! Oh my god I'm in love."

"Oooookaaaaaay," Ethan said, "Not creepy at all..."

"Dat ass," she said, licking her lips and eyeing said figure appreciatively. Ethan narrowed his eyes in annoyance and no small amount of jealousy.

"What's so great about his ass?" he asked, "Like I know why guys like ass and all, obviously, but what do girls get out of it?"

"A firm and muscular buttocks is very indicative of... how shall I say... thrusting power," she giggled. Ethan scrunched his eyes shut.

"Okey dokey. No more questions. I'm going back to my room now, enjoy your ogling," he said turning to push against the crowd. Kris laughed and followed him.

"Somebody's jealous!" she teased.

"Ahhh stop saying words!" he said, trying to push through the crowd faster.

"It's ok, he's too old for me sadly," she said, patting him on the back comfortingly.

"You're still saying words!" he put his hands over his ears. They finally broke through the crowd and started down the hallway towards his room, Kris happily skipping and humming, while Ethan was decidedly more surly in nature. He turned the handle and the door slammed open, Aaron shooting out, whimpering and cowering behind Ethan.

"Aaron, what's wrong?" Ethan asked, concerned. Then they heard a burbling chirp. They looked down. A pokemon was standing there, a happy smile on it's tiny face.

"Your egg hatched!" Kris gasped in delight, "You're a mommy now!"

"Prii!" the pokemon agreed, excited. Suddenly headaches hit them all, sharp stabbing pains shooting through their skulls.

"Prii!" the pokemon squeaked again, joyfully waddling up to Ethan and pulling at his shorts.

"Ugh," he said.

"Prii?" the pokemon asked.

"Dammit," he sighed, and scooped the Togepi up, causing the pokemon to coo happily.

"I hate psychics," he said, rubbing his temple.

* * *

><p>The steady beep signifying a heartbeat and the occasional drip of an IV were the only sounds to break the silence in the room. Lance looked at the tiny, frail woman, a needle in her wrinkled arm, an oxygen tube in her nose, sensors placed on her index finger and throat. The ghosts in the room didn't move, glaring at the intruder. The Crobat hanging from the unusually high ceiling shuffled, and the tail of her Arbok stuck out from under the bed. He knew that they would have no qualms with tearing him to pieces if he so much as breathed too harshly on their mistress. Slowly, carefully he sat down in the only chair in the room. Nothing attacked him. Good. Slowly, carefully, he reached over and turned down the sedatives. He waited, motionless. It took almost half an hour, but eventually she stirred, her breathing becoming deeper, her eyelids fluttering. It was another ten minutes before she awoke, looking around at the room before spotting Lance.<p>

"What do you want?" she snapped. Or tried to. Her voice was soft and raspy, unused for so long, "No, what's the date, then what do you want?"

"You've been asleep for just over two years now," he said.

"Hah!" a sharp laugh, amused, "And still not dead. What do you think about that eh?"

She paused to catch her breath, tired from the effort of laughing.

"Sit me up," she said finally. He obliged, the bed whirring as it folded into an upright position. Agatha reached a trembling hand out. Her ghosts pressed close to her, touching her gently, comforting her. Her arm fell. The ghost pokemon gingerly raised it back up, folding it across her breast.

"Well, what do you want?" she asked again. Lance looked at her seriously for a moment, then took a breath.

"Something's going on. Rocket's back. Our eyes are seeing less and less. Powerful people are popping up out of nowhere, people we know absolutely nothing about. Kurt is involved. Which means Oak is involved. Which makes me very, very nervous."

Agatha closed her eyes, her head falling back against the pillow. Lance waited patiently.

"What's the Cerulean situation like?" she finally asked.

"Quiet," he replied, "We were contemplating sending another team in, but nobody exactly wants to volunteer for it obviously."

"It's gone. That monster is gone."

"Where? Did Oak do this?" Lance asked, leaning forward.

"Not likely. He's not gotten directly involved in anything since before you were born," she rasped.

"Then who?"

She sighed and closed her eyes again.

"Do you know how that monster was created?"

"No."

"Neither do I. Not fully. But there was a team. Everybody... everybody important was there. They... found the ancestor. They found a Mew. They... did things to it. Things..." she shuddered.

"When they were done, that monster was created. The team, most of them didn't know... who they were working for. Nobody worked on it at the same time... Isolated from each other... Kept them ignorant. Not that that's an excuse," she spat. She paused to catch her breath.

"Somehow... somehow it escaped. Their weapon turned on them."

"Weapon?" Lance asked, "What for?"

"Don't know. Guess you'll have to ask Giovanni that."

"Giovanni? Oak worked for Team Rocket?"

The dying woman laughed.

"No... no he's far too smart for that. He kept tabs of course, but after they found the Mew and he made his precious drawings, he left. But the others. I know some of them. Fuji. Blaine. Elm. Jack."

Lance's eyes widened in shock.

"What?!" he gasped, "How? How could they? And us not know about it?"

Agatha's mocking laughter turned to coughing. It took a while for it to subside.

"Naive boy, before that Red came along, Giovanni controlled more of Kanto than you did, and was working on Johto. Just because he didn't sit on a thrice damned throne doesn't mean that he didn't have power," she spat at him. Literally this time. Snarling, she motioned with her hand, and Lance was shoved out of his chair and onto his knees. The freezing touch of the ghost pokemon locked him down, forcing his gaze up to hers.

"You want to know what's going on idiot? He's back, and he wants his weapon. If he wins this time, he won't have to bother with hiding in the shadows. He will just seize power!"

She caught her breath, then repeated.

"You want to know what's going on?" her eyes bored into his, filling up his vision.

"War."

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note:<strong> Just in case you couldn't tell, Togepi was using Extrasensory there. Also: the plot has finally started doing something other than not exist. Woo! Alsoalso: DAT ASS!


	12. Chapter 11

"So it hatched then... good."

"Yes, and it also seems to have psychic powers."

"Expected, father was a Noctowl."

"Ah."

There was silence for a bit as both men digested this.

"Still need to wait for it to evolve, but the is an excellent first step. I will begin diverting extra resources to him."

"Very well. Good luck."

They hung up. Jack destroyed the phone, and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. He loved ink; writing, drawing, it didn't matter. The glossy liquid darkness appealed to him, it's contrast against the dull white paper intoxicating. Even a letter could be turned into art. He carefully wrote, his script clear and bold, but flowing, rather than blocky. It didn't take long. The passage was short and simple, to give any codebreakers as little to work with as possible, just in case the message was intercepted. It had never happened before, but it never hurt to be cautious, particularly when time was not an issue. He smiled in satisfaction and sat back as the ink dried. Tiny flew down and landed in his breast pocket, looking up at him and chirping. He laughed and scratched her forehead. After a while he folded and rolled the paper up, then tied it to SunCloud's leg. The Skarmory rattled its feathers and then burst out of the room, the wind rushing to catch up with him.

* * *

><p>"You know, sleep is actually good for you, or so they say," Kris said, laying on his bed with her head hanging off the end, her hair brushing against the floor.<p>

"Statistically speaking, six hours is optimal for physical and mental health. I ran a few tests and confirmed it on myself. I'm fine," he replied absently, his back popping as he stretched.

"You're not actually getting six hours," she pointed out.

"Sure I am," he said. She raised an eyebrow.

"Laying in bed thinking and sleeping are two different things."

He turned to look at her.

"How exactly do you know I'm not asleep?"

"You moan in your sleep."

He paused for a bit, then decided to ignore that and return to working on his thesis. Now that Kris was back, time seemed to almost fly by. Between taking care of Togepi (a name had not yet been decided on, nor even a gender confirmed), working on his thesis, and catching Kris up on the stuff that he'd been doing so far, he managed to successfully avoid any possibility of free time. Not that that bothered him.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" she asked, sitting up and cuddling with Aaron, who rumbled happily at the attention. Togepi was sleeping on Ethan's pillow, its snores sounding like squeaks. Ethan paused again and considered the question.

"You know I'm not really sure. I've been wondering about it for a while now. At first I was worried that it would compromise the quality of my work, but that hasn't seemed to be the case, so I'm not really concerned about it too much.

"I am," she said simply. He turned to look at her again.

"Why's that?"

"No offense, but you're normally a slow person. Patient, which is a virtue or whatever, but you don't rush things. This is odd for you. Maybe you're growing up or whatever, but I'm not so sure."

He stood up and started to pace, thinking. Aaron got up too and ran to the door, thinking they were going out.

"Walking's better than pacing, and Aaron needs to stretch his legs, let's go," Kris said, jumping up and pulling on Ethan's arm.

"I really should be working..." he started, but she interrupted him.

"You're rushing. Figure that out first, then you can get right back to it," she laughed. He shrugged and they trudged outside, leaving Walter to guard Togepi.

It was nice outside, past dusk, but the old fashioned lanterns on most every building kept it lit and warm looking.

"Sooooo..." she said, poking him after a while of silence.

"Like I said, I'm not sure exactly. It's a... feeling."

"A feeling?! You have those?!" she gasped.

"Funny," he replied, glaring at her. She grinned angelically back at him.

"It's just... I feel like... something's watching me. Like, I know all the stupid recruits are spying on me all the time and whatnot, and even some of the other trainers, but this is different. I keep feeling like I should be... getting ready for something. Like if I don't I'll be caught unprepared. And you know how I don't like to be unprepared," he laughed, "It's not a bad feeling necessarily, but it is... uncomfortable I guess is the word. There's a pressure."

Kris's eyes widened and she stopped.

"Maybe your brain is getting so big it's about to explode your head!"

Ethan sighed.

"Don't explode head!" she cried, jumping on his back and hugging his head. He windmilled his arms around a bit until he found his balance, then supported her legs as they (he) kept walking. They ambled around the town for a while, but eventually they found themselves back at the gym.

"Well, I hate to say this, but I think you're right," Kris finally said.

"Hm?" Ethan asked, trying to look at her but almost falling over in the process. She hopped off his back and stood beside him.

"I'm not saying go crazy or anything, but I don't think slowing down is a good idea at the moment. That doesn't mean don't sleep though!" she glared at him sternly. He laughed and patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, I am a big fan of sleep and all you know."

"That's odd, because you don't seem like it," she pointed out.

"I'm good, promise," he said, smiling and hopping up to his window, easily pulling himself through. Kris followed after him. Aaron was about to follow, when suddenly he felt a chill, a quick shiver passing through his body. He whirled around, flame patches erupting. Eyes and a wide grin stared back at him from the shadows.

"C'mon boy," Ethan called through the window. Aaron snorted, a puff of flame coming from his nostrils, then turned and leapt into the window. The ghostly blue form of a Gengar materialized out of the shadows and giggled, then bounced away into the darkness.


	13. Chapter 12

"Look mom! See?" Ethan was beaming, showing off his new badge.

"Well done! I'm so proud of you," she replied, "And in only two months too! You're so smart."

"Yeah, what's crazy is that that's not even the fastest time!"

"That is pretty crazy," she agreed, taking a sip of her tea.

"Yeah, I've gotten even more job offers than I was getting already. It's becoming super annoying. I'll be leaving town soon though, so it won't be a bother much longer."

"Did you get a lot of money?"

"Almost three grand!"

"Wow that's a lot! Make sure you put some of that in savings."

"Yes mother," he said sighing. She laughed at his expression.

"I'm so proud of you baby. So you'll be on your way to Goldenrod next? Are you going to stay with your grandparents?"

"Well I'll visit them, but I'll probably just stay in the gym unless something weird happens. No need to commute every morning that way."

"Oh yeah, that's probably a good idea anyway given how big the city is. You be careful, ok?"

"Of course!" he smiled reassuringly at her, "Well Kris is back now, so I guess we'll get started packing. Talk to you later."

"Ok dear, bye," she waved at them.

"LOOKIT!" Kris exclaimed as soon as he hung up, "LOOKIT WHAT I GOT!"

She shoved a small box into his chest and stared at him expectantly. He slowly opened the box and gasped.

"Is this a charcoal? For real?" Ethan gasped, his eyes going wide, "How'dyougetthistheycostliketengrand?!"

"Pssh, it was easy! I was out and about in the woods, and some bumbling idiot was, well, bumbling around all lost and stuff. Turns out he's the charcoal makers apprentice, and he bribed me with a piece if I'd help him find his mastersFarfetch'd and not tell anyone. Didn't take long. And so here it is!"

"You're the best. The best of the best. The best look up to you as their role model. I'm going to hire somebody to run ahead of you and throw rose petals everywhere you go. This is perfect!" he picked her up in a hug. She giggled and blushed.

"Well give it to him already!" she said, squirming out of his grip.

"Right."

They both turned to Aaron, who looked up at them, confused about why he was suddenly getting so much attention.

"Hey boy, look what Kris got for you," Ethan said, holding the stick out to him. Aaron sniffed it cautiously, shivered, and then wolfed it down, his head darting forward so fast it was just a blur. Ethan jerked his hand away on reflex, but he was unharmed. Aaron tilted his head back and swallowed. Everyone was silent as they stared at Aaron expectantly.

"Wait, was that it?" Kris pouted, "I was expecting some sort of, I dunno, badass fire explosion of doom thing."

Right about then Aarons flame patches roared to life, gysering flames almost a foot tall. Ethan and Kris stumbled back, pushed away by the intense heat. Aaron stretched happily, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his rear legs in excitement. He barked and moved forward to nuzzle them. Ethan and Kris quickly scuttled back even more.

"Ok. That? That is the coolest thing I have ever seen. Ever," Kris said, staring at Aaron in awe. Ethan just nodded, then knelt before Aaron, scratching his face and throat. Aaron rumbled happily, the flames slowly dissipating.

"Well, good thing we're not going through an extremely flammable forest or anything. Oh wait..." Ethan joked. Kris rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>The waters were calm as Ariana looked over the seemingly ineptly named Lake of Rage. It was actually a rather nice day for this late in the season. She breathed in, triumphant. Everything was moving smoothly. Most of the tourists to the lake had been subtly discouraged from lingering. The site had been cleared. Construction had already begun, everything all nice and legal and completely inconspicuous. The one good thing that idiot Petrel was good for. While she saw the definitive need for his services, she often doubted his true dedication to Team Rocket. Compromises had to be made though. So long as her goals were achieved.<p>

Suddenly out of nowhere she felt a sharp cold prick where her neck met her jaw.

"Every time you do that is another hour that I will make you suffer before I finally let you die," she snarled through gritted teeth. Proton. How he was easily the most popular of the executives still baffled her. He laughed and trailed the knife along her jawline before pulling away.

"You know just how to turn me on," he said, moving so she could see how visibly turned on he was. She wanted to turn away in disgust, but knew better than to let him out of her sight for too long.

"Why are you here?"

"There were some... issues... at the well. Somehow we were discovered."

"You. You were discovered."

His smug grin briefly slipped off his face to be replaced by gritted teeth.

"Yes yes, I was discovered. But what's curious is who showed up. Care to take a guess?"

She looked at him steadily, not saying anything.

"No. Fine then. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't tell you, but even I can put the Team first when needs must. Kurt was there. As well as the boss's brat."

Ariana visibly froze, shocked briefly, and Proton's smug grin returned as he casually slit his thumb and sucked the blood.

"Kurt? How did he know? And Silver? Are they together? Have we actually lost him?" she asked quickly.

"You sound a little tense there. Panicked, almost. How about a nice back rub?" he drawled, the words rolling off his tongue like the threats they were.

"Shut up!" she hissed, thinking, "Ok... so, Kurt was there, which means Oak knew about it. But how much does he know? More importantly, how much is he going to do about it? He almost always prefers to let others do his dirty work for him. Is that why Silver was there? Is he working through him? No, can't be, Silver may hate us, but he still wouldn't work with Oak. Not like that. Ugh."

"The brat's gotten good. Very good. He was taking on three of the grunts with no problem."

"Duh. He is is father's son after all."

"Let me finish. There were others there. Kurt and Bugsy and Silver. But two I didn't recognize. Kids. About Silver's age I guess."

He paused to let that sink in before continuing.

"I did a little bit of research. See, Silver was using a Zubat, a Gastly, and a Bayleef."

Ariana raised an eyebrow.

"A Bayleef? Where'd he get one of those?"

"Well, turns out the laboratory of the illustrious Professor Elm was broken into a few months ago. The only thing that went missing? A little Chikorita. Interesting, no?"

Ariana's face was thoughtful for a second, then fell.

"Oh shit. And those other kids...?"

"Yup. Guys name is Ethan. Protege of Elm. Seeing the dots yet?"

"Shitshitshit," she sighed and rubbed her temples.

"What about the other one?"

"Ah yes. That delectable looking little girlchild. She's... a quandary. As far as I can tell, there's literally nothing on her. She just doesn't exist. A wild child, one might say. And who do we know that has a attraction towards feral things...?"

"GODSFUCK!" Ariana screamed. Proton laughed.

"'Mr. Pokemon' is back in the game."

"Call Archer. We're going to have to move faster."

"He already has," the man himself said, striding up calmly in an immaculate white suit.

"So, what is the plan oh leader mine," Ariana sneered.

"Your actions won't change. This is too vital to quit now. I have already set things in motion to deal with this new threat."

"Which are...?"

"Need to know. Get to work. We must make haste. Our window is shrinking rapidly and your part must be done quickly."

She sighed. That was as close to a compliment as Archer ever paid to anyone who wasn't Giovanni. She turned back to the lake. The setting sun set rolling ripples of gold across the waters surface. She was so far from home, so far from her childhood.

Fuck nostalgia.


End file.
